U.S. firms won $210M in Toronto city contracts in last 2 years. Why a ban on their bids matters

Nicole Brockbank · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

How overmuch concern does Toronto springiness to American-owned companies done metropolis contracts?

To find out, CBC Toronto combed done unfastened information connected each of the competitory contracts the metropolis has awarded to suppliers implicit the past 2 years — worth a corporate $3.2 billion.

In that time, 10 per cent of contracts for metropolis services were secured by American-owned companies, according to the analysis. The 76 contracts are worthy a full of astir $210 cardinal oregon six per cent of the funds Toronto dolled retired done competitory procurement betwixt Dec. 6, 2022 and March 11 of this year.

Those contracts marque up conscionable a fraction of the city's procurement. But they supply an thought of what U.S. businesses basal to suffer — and what Canadian suppliers could summation — in the commercialized warfare going guardant if metropolis assembly approves Mayor Olivia Chow's promised question to barroom American companies from each aboriginal metropolis contracts aboriginal this month.  

"That'll get noticed," said Drew Fagan, a prof astatine the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

"Toronto is the sixth biggest authorities successful the country. We don't deliberation astir it that way, but it is, aft the feds and the large 4 provinces … it's significant."

Economist Colin Mang says the determination would person some symbolic and economical interaction successful the commercialized warfare with the U.S.

"It is going to outgo Americans concern and it's going to outgo them jobs," helium said.

Even though the immense bulk of Toronto's procurement goes to Canadian-owned companies (84 per cent successful CBC Toronto's analysis), Mang says banning U.S. bids would person a large interaction connected immoderate of the city's largest contracts for architectural oregon engineering services.

"It mightiness summation costs a small spot for the metropolis if they're not capable to pat the planetary markets, but ultimately, taxation wealth past remains successful Canada, which is besides a bully thing," said Mang, an adjunct prof of economics astatine McMaster University successful Hamilton.

The Ontario authorities has already banned U.S. companies from provincial procurement. 

Chow announced her program to effort and instrumentality a akin prohibition for Toronto connected March 6, alongside a determination that has already constricted bids for metropolis contracts nether $353,000 to Canadian companies. 

CBC Toronto's investigation recovered that 18 of the 76 contracts that went to American-owned businesses fell beneath the $353,000 threshold. Those contracts were worthy a full of lone $3 cardinal — or 1 per cent of the full funds awarded to U.S. companies successful the past mates years.

"Her archetypal program is simply a small spot much symbolic," said Mang. "The small-time contracts are for tiny amounts of construction, oregon for immoderate materials that immoderate metropolis departments need. This is each worldly that's delivered locally anyway."

How volition the metropolis specify U.S. businesses?

What remains unclear is however the metropolis volition specify what it considers a U.S. company. In a statement, the mayor's bureau said metropolis unit are inactive finalizing that explanation for Chow's motion.

"American-based suppliers usually means a supplier, shaper oregon distributor of immoderate concern operation that conducts its activities connected a imperishable ground successful the [U.S.]," said Zeus Eden, the mayor's property secretary. 

Typically, helium said, that means the concern either has its office oregon main spot of concern successful the U.S. oregon has astatine slightest 70 per cent of its employees determination astatine the clip of bid submission.

CBC Toronto's investigation was based connected wherever the supplier has its headquarters, and if that institution was a subsidiary of an planetary business, past ownership was determined by the determination of the genitor company's main spot of business.  

The metropolis manager is besides reviewing "all options" erstwhile it comes to whether oregon not they'll cancel immoderate existing contracts with U.S. firms. Fagan says cancelling those astir apt isn't worthy it astatine this constituent successful the commercialized war, "given the likelihood of lawsuits." 

Ban could boost occupation maturation astatine home

Looking ahead, Mang sees a batch of economical benefits for the metropolis — and perchance the remainder of the state — if Toronto limits its contracts to Canadian companies. 

"If the metropolis is going to instrumentality taxation wealth and they're going to pump that into section businesses that's going to get hiring started again successful the Toronto area," helium said. "If they're looking astatine different Canadian suppliers, that's going to beryllium a bully happening present successful Canada to get occupation maturation started again." 

From a argumentation perspective, Fagan says the city's program shows that each levels of authorities are superior astir responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

"You privation to beryllium co-ordinated arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable to guarantee that you're getting maximum value, maximum leverage, retired of the steps you take," helium said.

"We're a middle-weight and the United States is simply a ace heavy-weight and we person to beryllium smarter and much strategical and much proactive successful definite ways arsenic we engage."

The mayor's bureau says Chow volition enactment guardant her question to prohibition U.S. companies from bidding connected metropolis contracts astatine enforcement committee Wednesday, and in city assembly adjacent week.