On September 16, 2026, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack warned Ontario's 444 municipalities that the province will reconsider their funding if they don't comply with the Buy Ontario Act, which requires them to maximize their use of Ontario and Canadian goods and services. Premier Doug Ford put it more bluntly: "For governments across Ontario, it's not an option. It's the law." The Act became law in November 2025 and has covered municipal purchasing (more than $22 billion a year in goods and services) since April 2026.
We made the case for this kind of reform in May 2025. At the time, we had recently lost business to U.S. vendors in four Canadian municipalities, even as Toronto launched its "Love Local" campaign. Our argument was that encouragement alone wasn't changing where public money went. Ontario has now moved from encouragement to requirement. The original release is below.
It's time for Canada to buy Canadian
This release was originally issued on May 27, 2025, via newswire.ca.
CALGARY, AB, May 27, 2025 – In the face of global economic uncertainty, David Owen Cord, CEO of Avanti Software, is urging Canadian government agencies to prioritize home-grown technology in their procurement policies. "Canada pours billions into R&D incentives like SR&ED—$4.5 billion in 2024 alone," Owen Cord explains. "But without adoption, that investment stops short of making an impact. Public institutions should be our industry's first customers, not its last."
Closing the innovation loop
Despite generous funding, government entities continue to procure foreign software, breaking the cycle of domestic investment and reinvestment.
Avanti's solution is simple: Canada's innovation cycle begins with government R&D funding through programs like SR&ED. Canadian companies turn that support into real solutions. When public agencies adopt these technologies, they help keep jobs and revenue in Canada—generating tax dollars that fund future innovation and growth.
Mandating that a portion of public funding be reinvested in Canadian tech creates a multiplier effect, where each reinvested dollar fuels a new cycle of economic activity here at home.
But when government agencies purchase foreign solutions, they disrupt that cycle, leaking potential tax revenue and job growth out of the country. In the long run, Canadians pay the price.
The United States recognized this long ago. Enacted in 1933, the Buy American Act (BAA) requires the U.S. government to prioritize the purchase of goods and services made in the United States over foreign-made alternatives. Canada should be no less ambitious when it comes to supporting its own innovators.
A national opportunity, starting locally
Just recently, Mayor Olivia Chow announced that the City of Toronto is launching a "Love Local" campaign, committing to put Canadian industry first when it comes to procurement. She called on all three levels of government to unite as Team Canada.
And yet, Avanti has lost business to U.S. vendors in four Canadian municipalities in just the past few months: County of Oxford, Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Municipality of the County of Kings, and Lac La Biche County.
If a major city like Toronto can take this kind of stand, why can't smaller levels of government follow suit?
"When government agencies buy Canadian," Owen Cord emphasizes, "we create jobs, secure our data, and ensure that R&D dollars generate real economic growth right here at home."
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