The Government of Alberta adheres to the principles of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) when procuring goods, services or construction. The AIT was established to reduce and eliminate barriers to the inter-provincial movement of goods, services, labour and investment, and to bring about a more open and stable domestic market within Canada. The Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) is the web-based electronic tendering system used by public bodies in Alberta to advertise their procurement opportunities.

Electronic Tendering

The Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) provides vendors equal access to purchasing opportunities from the Government of Alberta (including departments, agencies, boards, councils, committees, commissions, commercial enterprises and crown corporations) as well as, opportunities from Alberta's MASH Sector (municipalities, municipal organizations, school boards and publicly-funded academic, health, and social service entities). The APC can be found at http://www.purchasingconnection.ca

There are no fees for the APC's regular services, which include browsing and downloading solicitation documents; however, vendors must register prior to downloading.

The APC contains a ‘Vendor Directory’ in which vendors can enter extensive information about their organization. This information is available to the over 2,000 public sector purchasers who make use of the APC. The vendor directory is not a source list, but it is a way vendors can market themselves to the Government of Alberta and Alberta’s MASH Sector. The Vendor Directory is particularly useful for vendors interested in ‘smaller value’ opportunities.

Government of Alberta Departments

Goods

Procurement Services serves as the contact for any questions regarding the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) and the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA) (external site), the guidelines by which the Government of Alberta purchases its goods, services and construction.

Procurement Services purchases goods over $10,000 on behalf of departments. All government departments are authorized to purchase goods under $10,000 and all their services.

Services

Government of Alberta departments are responsible for the acquisition of services required to meet their business needs. When procuring services valued at $100,000 or above, departments must advertise these opportunities using APC. Purchases of services under $100,000 may not be advertised by government departments on APC although they do have that option. Vendors interested in these small dollar value opportunities (under $100,000) should market themselves directly to the applicable department.*

Construction

Alberta Infrastructure procures construction and construction-related services, tenders for property management services, consulting services, and leased space.

Public Sector Entities

Government of Alberta agencies, boards, councils, committees, commissions, commercial enterprises and crown corporations as well as the MASH sector are subject to the fair acquisition process enshrined in the AIT. These entities are responsible for procuring goods, services and construction required to meet their business needs. To learn more about the procurement practices of these entities contact them directly.

For More Information

For more information regarding procurement practices of the Government of Alberta or the AIT, visit the Service Alberta website. Here you will find general information about the purchasing practices of the Government of Alberta, as well as a copy of the Key Purchasing Contacts in the Alberta Government. This listing provides a brief description of the mandate of each department and departmental purchasing contacts.

APC questions should be directed to the APC Help Desk. Selling to government or AIT questions should be directed to the Trade Development Office.

* Key Purchasing Contacts in the Alberta Government

Related Reading

• Inventory of Major Alberta Projects
• Procurement Strategy for Aboriginal Business
• MERX: Electronic Tendering Service
• Federal Supplier Registration Information (SRI)
• Doing Business in the Government Procurement Marketplace

Alberta Contact(s):

Alberta Purchasing Connection Help Desk
Edmonton, Alberta 
Telephone: 780-644-5726
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Web site: http://www.purchasingconnection.ca

Chelle Busch
Acting Project Contracting Manager
Service Alberta
9th fl South Tower 10030 - 107 Street
Edmonton, AB T5J 3E4
Phone: 780-644-7430
Fax: 780-422-9672
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it