Where are Newfoundland and Labrador government tenders posted?

Where does the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador post tenders?

The Public Procurement Agency says open calls for bids issued by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador are hosted on the MERX/SOVRA e-procurement platform at www.merx.com/govnl. The province's MERX page says provincial opportunities for goods, services, public works and leases of space are hosted there and made available to suppliers at no cost. Under the Public Procurement Act, the Agency acquires the commodities that government departments need, and a May 2026 provincial release describes it as overseeing the acquisition of goods and services for Provincial Government departments.

The switch to electronic bidding is not new. The province implemented MERX e-procurement on November 3, 2020, and effective May 3, 2021, bids are only accepted through the online e-bidding system on MERX. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure's tendering page carries the same notice and links to MERX as its eProcurement channel, so construction and road work tenders from that department also go through MERX.

Notices that fall under trade agreements are also posted on the federal CanadaBuys site, so you may see a provincial call in both places. The MERX posting is the one to bid on.

Which public bodies have to follow the Public Procurement Act?

The Public Procurement Act reaches well beyond provincial departments. Its definition of a public body includes:

• Departments of the provincial government.
• Crown corporations where at least 90% of the issued common shares are owned by the Crown, and corporations made agents of the Crown by an Act.
• Towns and local service districts, plus the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl and the City of Corner Brook.
• The conseil scolaire under the Schools Act, 1997.
• Agencies and authorities of the province.
• The Provincial Health Authority established under the Provincial Health Authority Act.
• Boards, commissions and other bodies designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

The Act leaves the dollar amounts at which an open call is required to regulations. The province's NL First Procurement Strategy says that in 2020 government raised those thresholds to the maximum allowed under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement for all public bodies except Crown corporations, which gives public bodies more room to run a limited call and direct requests for quotations to provincial businesses below the thresholds.

Below trade agreement thresholds, the strategy also describes a provincial supplier preference: public bodies apply a ten per cent discount to a provincial supplier's bid price for evaluation purposes.

Do I need to register to bid on Newfoundland and Labrador tenders?

Yes, if you want to bid. Because provincial bids are only accepted through MERX e-bidding, you need a MERX account to submit. The Public Procurement Agency says the service is free to use and lets suppliers:

• View notices and documents in one place.
• Receive email notifications of matched opportunities, amendments and awards.
• Submit bids online through the electronic bid submission process.
• Ask the procurement specialist or buyer questions through the Q & A feature.
• Track bid progress and history.

NL Health Services gives the same direction for its own MERX page: registration to view and respond to open calls is free, and on the registration page you select Pay As You Go, Free. The Agency also posts a video guide, the province's MERX page links to tutorials on creating a MERX supplier account, and the Agency offers procurement training to suppliers free of charge, and questions about accessing opportunities can go to PPAinquiries@gov.nl.ca.

Where do the City of St. John's and NL Health Services post their tenders?

City of St. John's

The City of St. John's runs its own bidding site. Its procurement opportunities and e-bidding system are at stjohns.bidsandtenders.ca, and the City says to register your business to receive notifications about contracts that match your profile. The City says it follows the Public Procurement Act and lists these thresholds at which tenders must be publicly advertised, unless an exception applies:

• Goods: $139,000
• Services, including engineering: $139,000
• Public works: $347,400
• Lease of space: $100,000

The City's bid site states that the bid document is the official document, so check it for the closing time and submission instructions. Nearby municipalities vary: the Public Procurement Agency's list shows the City of Mount Pearl and the Town of Paradise on bidsandtenders.ca, the Town of Carbonear on MERX, and many towns posting on their own websites.

NL Health Services

NL Health Services says that, in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, its open call opportunities are posted to its MERX page at merx.com/govnl/nl-phsssc. It also runs a supplier distribution list and a quarterly supplier newsletter, but it states that individual open call opportunities will not be shared from that email account, so the list is not a substitute for MERX alerts.

Some health buying happens through a group purchasing organization. The Public Procurement Agency lists Health Pro Canada as the buying group for NL Health Services, with its opportunities on Biddingo.

Where are federal government tenders in Newfoundland and Labrador posted?

Federal government work in the province is published on CanadaBuys. CanadaBuys says tender opportunities are published there if they are subject to one of Canada's trade agreements and meet its dollar thresholds, and each notice shows which agreements apply.

New notices and amendments are published daily, and you can subscribe to email alerts for a saved search. Remember that provincial notices covered by trade agreements also show up there, so you may see the same call twice.

Where do suppliers miss Newfoundland and Labrador opportunities?

What I see most often in this province is a supplier watching one MERX page and assuming it covers everything. The Agency's own list says it may not contain all sites that publish tender notices, and the spread is wide:

• Separate MERX pages. NL Health Services, NLSchools, Memorial University, College of the North Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, the Liquor Corporation and WorkplaceNL each have their own page under merx.com/govnl, so check that your alerts cover them.
• Other bidding sites. Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, the City of St. John's, the City of Mount Pearl and the Town of Paradise use bidsandtenders.ca.
• Own websites. Regional service boards, several Crown corporations, the City of Corner Brook and dozens of towns post on their own sites.
• Buying groups. The Agency lists Interuniversity Services Inc. on Bonfire for Memorial University, Health Pro Canada on Biddingo for NL Health Services, and Canoe Procurement Group of Canada for municipalities and local service districts.
• Limited calls below the thresholds. The NL First strategy notes that higher thresholds let public bodies run limited calls and send requests for quotations to provincial businesses, so being known to the buyer matters for smaller work.
• Missed amendments. The Agency says MERX sends email notifications of amendments, but check the posting itself for addenda before you submit.