Implement social procurement and Economic NutritionCM for increased financial transparency and community resilience
Executive Summary
Buy Social Canada, The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies (“The Shorefast Institute”), Canadian CED Network, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada, Ontario Nonprofit Network, and Sun Certified Builders Cooperative commend the Government of Canada’s new Buy Canadian Policy as a timely response to global trade tensions and tariff shocks.
At a time of global supply chain disruption, economic uncertainty, and increasing public demand for accountability, this policy rightly emphasizes the importance of Canadian supply chains, and offers an important opportunity to strengthen Canadian communities, industries, and workers through purchasing. However, to build a stronger Canada, we must embed transparency and social value into procurement.
Our organizations share a commitment to building resilient, inclusive economies. Buy Social Canada is a national social enterprise which advances social procurement through consulting, education and training to leverage existing purchasing for community value.
The Shorefast Institute, an initiative of Shorefast based on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a dynamic catalyst for communities, governments, and businesses to strengthen local economies and drive national prosperity.
One of Shorefast’s flagship innovations – which The Shorefast Institute is currently introducing across Canada – is the Economic NutritionCM Certification Mark, a framework designed to help people and organizations make informed purchasing decisions that support local economies.
Together, we see the Buy Canadian Policy as a pivotal tool to ensure that every public dollar strengthens Canadian communities and local economies.
Our organizations recommend three primary enhancements to ensure the policy maximizes economic and community impact: (1) integrate social procurement to leverage purchasing from social enterprises, co-operatives, and other social value suppliers for social and economic inclusion, (2) adopt Economic NutritionCM as a tool to track, communicate, and transform the impact of public spending, and (3) align federal investment on major infrastructure developments with a place-based approach to foster community resilience.
Why place must be central to national strategy
Canada has been described by former Prime Minister Joe Clark as a “community of communities.” Yet procurement practices too often treat Canada’s economy as a set of industries and national averages, overlooking the people and places where value is created or lost. By embedding a place-based approach into the Buy Canadian Policy, the Government of Canada and other public purchasers can ensure that tax-payer dollars support Canadian workers, businesses, and communities across regions and Indigenous territories.
Opportunities for Policy Leadership
The Buy Canadian Policy rightly responds to tariff shocks and global market instability by prioritizing Canadian supply chains, as the tariffs have galvanized a Buy Canadian movement. Consumers are more conscious than ever of their purchasing power to send a message with their dollars, and governments and organizations across the country are following suit.
Global supply chains are also vulnerable. This is a key moment to build resilience by investing in local production and ownership. But supplier requirements from large purchasers including the Federal Government remain vague, and there is a lack of transparency for the public regarding where money goes and who benefits from transactions.
The Buy Canadian Policy can become a tool to shape a transparent, fair and place-based economy that supports resilient communities across the country. This can be supported in two ways.
Integrate Social Procurement
Social procurement enables governments to achieve best value by considering community and social value outcomes alongside price and quality. The Federal Government already has a Policy on Social Procurement and a Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business in place, acknowledging the many ways procurement can secure best value for Canadians. These strategic objectives and commitments should be reflected in a Buy Canadian Policy.
In addition, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) should recognize Canadian Certified Social Enterprises as suppliers of choice, in recognition that social enterprises create a stronger, more inclusive workforce, sustain local economies, and reinvest the majority of profits or surplus back into their mission.
Municipalities such as Vancouver and Toronto, as well as Indigenous projects nationwide, already embed social procurement into practice, and create healthy, vibrant communities by prioritizing purchases from social enterprises and other diverse suppliers.
There is immense opportunity to leverage the Government of Canada’s spending to not only strengthen the Canadian economy, but to create additional benefits for local communities.
One key pathway is through upcoming major federal infrastructure investments on nation-building projects such as Phase 2 of LNG Canada in Kitimat. The Federal Government should incorporate community benefits in construction on these projects, as they have already done on the Alto high speed rail project, to require they buy Canadian, buy from social enterprises, and expand workforce development pathways for under-served communities.
Include Economic NutritionCM
Canadians deserve greater insight into how public funds are spent. Modeled on food nutrition labels, Shorefast’s Economic NutritionCM clearly communicates how each dollar an organization spends is distributed geographically and across categories such as wages, shipping and operations.
Economic NutritionCM further sets a standard for making informed purchasing decisions that support local economies. By becoming Economic NutritionCertified, an organization, business, or municipality is provided with the tools and resources to prioritize the local impact of their purchasing decisions.
Shorefast’s Economic NutritionCM is already implemented by businesses on Fogo Island and on pilot projects with businesses, municipalities and non-profits nationwide. We recommend the Federal Government adopt Economic NutritionCM as a standard reporting tool in the Buy Canadian roadmap. This will allow policymakers and the public to track local, provincial, national, and international value distribution.
Cross-Cutting Implications
- Measurement: Procurement policies should include transparent, place-based metrics to track community benefit.
- Governance: Policies must respect Indigenous self-determination in procurement and economic decision-making.
- Investment: Federal infrastructure and procurement investments should prioritize long-term community resilience over short-term efficiencies.
Policy Recommendations
We advise the Government of Canada to strengthen the Buy Canadian Policy the following ways.
- Mandate Social Procurement across Federal procurement to ensure that every purchase contributes to social and community benefit.
- Adopt Economic NutritionCM as a national transparency tool to measure and communicate where procurement dollars land.
- Align Federal Investment with Place-Based Resilience, using procurement as a lever to strengthen Canadian communities, diversify ownership, and build economic sovereignty on nation-building projects.
Conclusion
The Buy Canadian Policy is more than an economic strategy, it is a pivotal opportunity to transform procurement into a driver of resilience and inclusion. By embedding social procurement and Economic NutritionCM, Canada can ensure that every public dollar buys more than goods, it builds thriving communities across the country.
Buy Social Canada and The Shorefast Institute stand ready to work with the Federal Government to implement these measures and help Canada lead the world in procurement that creates inclusive jobs and strengthens local economies across the country.
Signatories
The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies
Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet/RCDÉC)