In Montréal, more bidders per public call, and more gré à gré
More bidders per call than elsewhere in Quebec, and the largest gré à gré share of the seventeen regions: what the review measures in Montréal.
By Philippe Dallaire, founder ·
Montréal is Quebec's largest public market. The public procurement review counts 5,711 public calls that closed there in 2024 and 2025 on notices naming only Montréal, more than in any other region. Two measures set it apart, and they do not point the same way.
More bidders per call
A public call there draws 4.3 bidders on average, against 4.0 for all of Quebec, and 16% of calls draw a single bid, against 18%. It is one of the regions where competition on a public call is strongest.
And the largest gré à gré share
Montréal is also the region where the share of awarded processes given by gré à gré is largest: 74%, against 62% for all of Quebec. A gré à gré contract awarded below the public-tender threshold is lawful. The review does not say why the share is larger here: it describes the region's market, not any body's conduct.
For a bidder
The two measures call for two ways of working. On a public call, expect more competitors than elsewhere. For contracts given by gré à gré, which go through no public call, a firm has to be known to the bodies before they award: many keep a supplier list for these contracts, often with rotation, and being on it is how a firm gets invited.