Program directory · Public Services and Procurement Canada
Procurement Ombud
- Department
- Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Program code
- BVZ01 (GSC)
- Core responsibility
- Procurement Ombud
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Office of the Procurement Ombud operates at arm’s-length from federal organizations. It is legislated to review the procurement practices of federal organizations, review complaints from Canadian suppliers, and provide alternative dispute resolution services.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procurement Ombud | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $31.2M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Renamed from “Procurement Ombudsman” to “Procurement Ombud”. | GC InfoBase program names by year |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 90% | 2019 | — In 2018–19, OPO received four requests for formal ADR services. Two of the requests met the requirements set out in the Regulations, and ADR processes were launched. One of the ADR requests was resolved between the supplier and federal organization prior to the start of a formal process and the other continued into 2019–20. OPO also provided ADR services on two cases started the previous year. | No result reported |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 90% | 2020 | 100% | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 90% | 2021 | 100% | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 90% | 2022 | 0% OPO received 7 requests for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) services which met OPO’s regulatory requirements. Of the 7 requests, 1 request went to mediation but did not result in a settlement agreement. The 6 other requests did not go to mediation, in 3 cases, the department declined to participate, in 1 case, the request did not meet the Procurement Ombudsman Regulations, and in 2 cases, th… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 90% | 2023 | 100% | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 75% | 2024 | 0% In 2023 to 2024, OPO received 11 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) requests, of which: 1 was resolved informally with OPO’s help, thus it was withdrawn; 3 went to mediation but did not result in a settlement agreement; 5 did not go to mediation (in 3 of them, the implicated department declined to participate, in the remaining 2, the supplier withdrew the request); 2 are ongoing and will be rep… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 75% | 2025 | 11% In 2024 to 2025, OPO received 9 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) requests, of which: 1 was resolved formally and resulted in a settlement agreement;, 4 were resolved informally with OPO’s help, thus they were withdrawn; 3 went to mediation but did not result in a settlement agreement; and 1 is ongoing and will be reported in the next fiscal year. | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 50% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $4.1M | $4.4M |
| 2019-20 | $4.1M | $4M |
| 2020-21 | $4.1M | $4.1M |
| 2021-22 | $4.2M | $4M |
| 2022-23 | $4.2M | $4.6M |
| 2023-24 | $4.2M | $4.7M |
| 2024-25 | $4.5M | $5.4M |
| 2025-26 | $4.5M | — |
| 2026-27 | $4.4M | — |
| 2027-28 | $4.3M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $4M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 18 | 25 |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 25 |
| 2020-21 | 21 | 29 |
| 2021-22 | 21 | 28 |
| 2022-23 | 29 | 31 |
| 2023-24 | 30 | 28 |
| 2024-25 | 28 | 33 |
| 2025-26 | 34 | — |
| 2026-27 | 34 | — |
| 2027-28 | 32* | — |
| 2028-29 | 32* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $4,109,731 | $4,109,109 | $4,109,109 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $4,122,297 | $4,122,297 | $4,122,297 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $4,138,544 | $4,149,751 | $4,152,606 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $4,211,647 | $4,214,453 | $4,214,463 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $4,198,354 | $4,198,364 | $4,198,364 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $4,249,776 | $4,249,776 | $4,249,776 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $4,480,464 | $4,498,185 | $4,500,921 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $4,534,537 | $4,537,309 | $4,537,309 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $4,389,120 | $4,271,132 | $4,045,923 | ||||||||
| Actual | $4,398,757 | $3,987,055 | $4,091,748 | $3,995,892 | $4,630,094 | $4,697,286 | $5,356,263 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
