Federal data and oversight reports show little progress in opening Ottawa’s contracting system to smaller businesses, despite years of warnings from the procurement ombudsman about practices that favour repeat suppliers.

An analysis by IJF found no change in the number of noncompetitive contracts issued or the number of companies hired since 2022, after the Office of the Procurement Ombud (OPO) released dozens of reports over the past five years describing how federal contracting often limits competition.