Where are Saskatchewan government tenders posted?

What is SaskTenders and who posts on it?

SaskTenders is the Government of Saskatchewan's competition site, run by the Ministry of SaskBuilds and Procurement. It describes itself as the primary gateway for public sector tender notices for Saskatchewan, and the province's Doing Business with Government page says businesses can review and bid on posted tenders from the provincial government and municipal governments, including the Crown, health and education sectors.

The SaskTenders search groups buyers into five organization types:

• Government: government ministries, agencies, boards and independent offices.
• Crown Corporations: Government of Saskatchewan Crown corporations.
• Health: health facilities other than the Ministry of Health, such as the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
• Municipalities: municipal organizations, such as the City of Regina.
• Schools: educational facilities.

SaskTenders' service standards say only Saskatchewan public entities are approved to post as buyers, and that buyers control the opening and closing dates of their own competitions. Competition types include Invitations to Tender, Requests for Proposals, Requests for Information and Advance Contract Award Notices, and the category list includes a Vendors List (Prequalified) category alongside goods, services and construction.

Which purchases have to be publicly posted in Saskatchewan?

The posting obligation comes from trade agreements, mainly the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). SaskTenders' service standards describe the site as providing free access to public tender notices as required by the trade agreement thresholds. The province's thresholds chart for 2026 and 2027 sets the NWPTA values by type of buyer:

• Ministries: goods $10,000, services $75,000, construction $100,000.
• Crown corporations: goods $25,000, services $100,000, construction $100,000.
• MASH sector (municipalities, academic institutions, school boards and health organizations): goods $75,000, services $75,000, construction $200,000.

The CFTA thresholds are higher, for example $139,000 for MASH goods and services and $347,400 for MASH construction in 2026 and 2027. The chart notes it has no legal force and is for information only, and it is valid until December 31, 2027. The province's purchasing overview adds that, for ministries, these thresholds include options and applicable taxes.

How do I register on SaskTenders and get notifications?

Guests can view posted competitions, but you must be registered and logged in to download competition documents. The Supplier User Manual says registration is free and supplier accounts are approved automatically. The steps follow that manual:

1. Select Create an Account, then Register.
2. Enter your full legal organization name, address and main phone number.
3. Enter your user details, using the email address where you want competition communications sent.
4. Read and accept the SaskTenders User Agreement, then select Register.
5. Log in with the temporary password emailed to you and set a new one. SaskTenders asks you to change your password every six months.

Email alerts are set up on the Notifications tab. You choose a category and commodity, make sure the Receive Email box is checked and select Add, and there is no limit on how many categories you can add. The service standards say alerts go out daily, and that suppliers who have accessed a competition's documents receive an email if those documents are updated or changed.

Two account rules catch people out. Amendment emails only go to suppliers who downloaded the documents, so bookmarking a competition is not enough. And SaskTenders emails users whose account has not been used in 11 months, then inactivates the account if they do not log in within 30 days.

What is GEM and do I need to register there too?

Government Enterprise Management (GEM) is the province's new system for procurement. The province says suppliers still use SaskTenders to view competitions, but submissions for GEM competitions are made through the GEM Supplier Portal, which is also where suppliers acknowledge amendments, receive award notices and purchase orders, and review contracts. GEM competitions posted on SaskTenders state that registration in GEM is mandatory to download competition documents, submit questions, receive amendments and addenda, and submit a bid.

GEM is used by Executive Council and the Office of the Premier, the ministries and some other provincial bodies. The province lists many agencies, boards and Crown corporations, including SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy and SGI, along with rural municipalities, as keeping their current procurement methods.

• Before registering, contact GEM support to check whether your business already has an account, since duplicates cause delays. Suppliers with open contracts, or paid by the government since November 1, 2023, already have a profile and receive an emailed registration link.
• You need company details, at least one address with its use (such as bidding on requests for quotation), and at least one employee with a user account and a role such as Bidder.
• GEM has a built-in message centre that replaces email for supplier communication, and notifications arrive both in the system and by email. The province advises checking for alerts regularly, since action may be needed for a submission to advance.

Where do Saskatchewan Crown corporations, Regina and Saskatoon post?

Most of them use SaskTenders, but several add a second system. Check each buyer's own page:

• SaskPower: posts opportunities on SaskTenders and MERX, and says MERX is its primary platform for downloads and bid submissions. Notifications are available by signing up on either site.
• SaskTel: posts its competitions on SaskTenders. New suppliers register through the SaskTel Procurement Portal, and SaskTel uses Ariba for supplier profiles.
• SaskEnergy: tells suppliers to register on SaskTenders for SaskEnergy opportunities.
• City of Regina: uses SaskTenders to advertise procurement opportunities for construction, goods and services, and says unsuccessful companies can view award postings there.
• City of Saskatoon: runs its bidding on bids&tenders at saskatoon.bidsandtenders.ca. Opportunities over $75,000 are still advertised on SaskTenders, but you need a free bids&tenders account to download documents and bid, and award information is posted only on bids&tenders.

Federal work in Saskatchewan is separate. CanadaBuys publishes federal tenders that are subject to one of Canada's trade agreements and meet its threshold, and offers email alerts on saved searches. SaskTenders' Standing Offers page also points suppliers to CanadaBuys to bid on Canadian Collaborative Procurement Initiative competitions, whose federal standing offers some Saskatchewan public bodies can use.

Where do suppliers most often miss Saskatchewan opportunities?

What I see most often in Saskatchewan is a supplier who set up SaskTenders once and assumed that covered the province. The official sources point to the gaps:

• Relying only on email alerts. SaskTenders' own terms say the service should not be relied on as the exclusive method of notification, partly because of variance in how buyers choose commodity groups, and that you are responsible for checking the site or the posting entity's website.
• Viewing without downloading. Amendment emails go to suppliers who downloaded the documents, so a competition you only read on screen can change without you hearing about it.
• Missing the second registration. GEM competitions need a GEM Supplier Portal account, SaskPower uses MERX for downloads and bids, and Saskatoon uses bids&tenders. Registering on SaskTenders alone does not let you bid on any of these.
• Letting the account lapse. An unused SaskTenders account is inactivated after the 11 month warning and 30 day grace period.
• Work below the trade agreement thresholds, which buyers are not required to post publicly under those agreements.
• Prequalified lists and standing offers. SaskTenders has a Vendors List (Prequalified) category and publishes the province's standing offer agreements, so watching for prequalification calls matters as much as watching for tenders.
• Ignoring tender plans. The SaskTenders Info page carries tender plans, such as the Highways Fall 2026 Tender Plan and a SaskBuilds and Procurement Summer 2026 Tender Plan, that show upcoming work before it is posted.