We need to talk about procurement in Canada, because somewhere along the way, we lost sight of what it’s actually meant to achieve.
I’ve seen bids deemed non-compliant for something as simple as attaching five PDFs instead of two. Not because the team lacked capability, experience, or a strong solution, but because of formatting. And yes, the easy response is “you should have read the RFP properly.” But that’s exactly where the problem lies.
We’re issuing 100+ page RFPs, filled with layers of instructions, compliance requirements, and rigid submission rules. On top of that, we continue to ask the same recycled questions, “provide your approach and methodology,” as if they meaningfully differentiate one team from another. In reality, they often result in polished versions of the same response, repeated across submissions with very little new thinking.
The industry is full of highly capable, intelligent people. But instead of creating space for them to think, challenge, and innovate, we’ve built a system that rewards those who are best at navigating process. We’re not evaluating who can solve the problem, we’re evaluating who can follow instructions most precisely.
So what if we flipped the model?
Instead of asking generic questions, we present real scenarios. A live program with $100M in secured funding, complex stakeholder dynamics, procurement pressures, and supply chain risk. Then we ask the market to respond in a structured way across procurement, contract strategy, controls, risk, and delivery, focused on how they would protect the client and achieve best value.
This kind of approach forces teams to engage with the problem. It reveals how they think, how they prioritise, and how they balance competing pressures. More importantly, it shifts the focus from theoretical capability to applied intelligence.
Because the reality is, the best teams won’t win on the strength of a template, they’ll win on the strength of their thinking.
If we are serious about improving outcomes in capital projects, and if we genuinely want to strengthen Canada’s economy, then procurement needs to evolve. We need to move beyond systems that reward compliance for the sake of compliance, and start creating processes that identify, challenge, and elevate real capability.
No Filter. Just Founder.
Because the founder’s path deserves the full story.
