In Uncertain Times, Procurement is the Most Powerful Economic Tool for B.C. Policymakers

As B.C.’s Legislature prepares to reconvene for the fall session, the political and economic landscape remains unsettled. 

Apart from untangling delays in building major projects and infrastructure, the province enters the session without a clear economic strategy to address its growing deficit. Compounding this is the ongoing job action involving more than 15,000 public sector workers, now in its sixth week. The lack of a cohesive response from government has raised concerns about long-term planning and fiscal management. 

Opposition parties are struggling to find strategic direction amid continued leadership upheaval, with a rookie BC Green Party leader, a new OneBC Party, and leadership questions around BC Conservative Leader John Rustad.

Against this backdrop, B.C. risks entering the fall session politically fragmented and economically adrift. While government has spoken broadly of industrial strategies to spur economic grown and attract federal investment, there is still no clear economic roadmap beyond building major projects and resource sector development. 

Procurement Reform is Essential to Industrial Strategy 

The government has talked optimistically about efforts to capture federal defence spending, and an intention to update BC’s Life Sciences Strategy, but the most effective way to move the needle economically is through procurement reform.

Any CEO will tell you that the most valuable thing to propel their company’s growth is a purchase order, and government procurement acts as an important validator to help them win further contracts.

Risk-averse procurement processes are shutting out B.C. innovators. Long process delays, and unpredictable outcomes make it difficult for domestic companies to participate. BC companies have innovative products and services that can help government operate more efficiently. But instead, too many technology purchases go to large multinationals whose only real competitive advantage is their ability to navigate cumbersome bureaucratic processes.

CCI has long advocated for the creation of a B.C. Tech Procurement Task Force to modernize procurement. I talked about the value of this when I presented pre-budget recommendations to the Committee on Finance and Government Services earlier this year. 

Key priorities include: 

• Including more SMEs and domestic innovators 

• Reducing red tape and delays 

• Building mechanism for sharing risk  

• Introducing mechanisms like set-asides for local companies 

I reached out to Kelvin Ng, Director of Business Operations at Global Relay, a Vancouver company and a CCI member. Ng told me: 

“Because of government process, Global Relay spent more than $2.5 million in recent years pursuing procurement opportunities with the B.C. and Federal governments—only to be told we were close, but the contract would either be delayed or awarded to a U.S. provider.” 

B.C.’s innovation isn’t the problem—the process is.

With the Ministry of Citizens’ Services undergoing reorganization, and CCI engaged in active dialogue with government, we are cautiously optimistic that change is on the horizon.

Collaboration Is Key 

B.C. must move beyond job creation through traditional levers like foreign direct investment (FDI), project builds and resource extraction. It’s time to adopt a value-add strategy to embed innovation, IP generation, and intangible assets into all aspects of B.C.’s economy. The best way to do that is by building a stronger relationship directly with domestic innovators and celebrating homegrown B.C. companies  that are competing globally. 

As Kelvin Ng puts it, “The province needs to invest in relationships with leaders in the tech sector. We know and respect that, traditionally, government knows and champion leaders in the resource sector yet the tech sector offers potential to bring much greater return on investment in benefit of the people of BC. We're ready to collaborate and work with the province."  

As the fall session begins, CCI will continue working with the province to strengthen relationships, advocate for procurement reform, and support the development of industrial policies that place innovation at their core. 

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À propos du Conseil des innovateurs canadiens

Le Conseil des innovateurs canadiens est une organisation nationale basée sur ses membres qui remodèle la façon dont les gouvernements à travers le Canada pensent à la politique d'innovation, et qui soutient les entreprises d'envergure nationale pour stimuler la prospérité. Fondé en 2015, le CCI représente et travaille avec plus de 150 entreprises technologiques canadiennes à la croissance la plus rapide. Nos membres sont les chefs de la direction, les fondateurs et les cadres supérieurs qui sont à l'origine de certaines des entreprises à grande échelle les plus prospères du Canada. Tous nos membres sont des créateurs d'emplois et de richesses, des investisseurs, des philanthropes et des experts dans leurs domaines de la technologie de la santé, des technologies propres, de la fintech, de la cybersécurité, de l'IA et de la transformation numérique. Les entreprises de notre portefeuille sont leaders sur leur marché vertical, commercialisent leurs technologies dans plus de 190 pays et génèrent entre 10 et 750 millions de dollars de revenus annuels récurrents. Nous plaidons en leur nom pour des stratégies gouvernementales qui augmentent leur accès aux talents qualifiés, au capital stratégique et aux nouveaux clients, ainsi qu'à une liberté d'exploitation élargie pour leurs poursuites d'échelle à l'échelle mondiale.