Defence construction in Canada runs on its own rulebook. Most of it is delivered by Defence Construction Canada (DCC) under federal contract documents, a federal prompt payment law, industrial security requirements and some of the most demanding green building rules in the country. For owners, contractors and consultants new to the sector, the rules aren’t the hard part. The hard part is planning for how they interact with schedule and cost.
Defence Construction Canada: who delivers the work
DCC is a Crown corporation whose mission is “to provide timely, effective and efficient infrastructure and environment support services” for Canada’s defence. It operates on a fee-for-service basis with no government appropriations, and offers five service lines: contract services, contract management services, environmental services, project and program management, and real property management.
Its growth is steep. In 2025-26, DCC made $1.9 billion in contract payments, awarded projects worth over $7.1 billion, issued more than 1,500 contracts and grew its active portfolio to $19 billion. It reported 95% of construction contracts finished on time. Its corporate plan forecasts contract expenditures rising to $5.8 billion by 2029-30.
View the data
| Fiscal year | Contract payments |
|---|---|
| 2022-23 | $1.2B |
| 2023-24 | $1.3B |
| 2024-25 | $1.5B |
| 2025-26 | $1.9B |
| 2026-27 forecast | $2.4B |
| 2029-30 forecast | $5.8B |
How DCC contracts work
- Delivery models. Alongside traditional design-bid-build, DCC uses public-private partnerships, modified and progressive design-build, construction management and integrated project delivery. It first used IPD on a facility for the Royal Canadian Dragoons in 2021.
- Contract documents. The standard package (DCL 250E) includes DCC’s General Conditions (DCL 32), bid and contract security forms, insurance conditions and the contractor performance evaluation forms.
- Bid security. At least 10% of the tender amount, excluding taxes, to a maximum of $2 million. Contract security is required on tenders over $500,000.
- Holdback. Progress payments are 95% of the value of work if a labour and material payment bond is in place, and 90% otherwise.
- Performance evaluation. DCC evaluates contractors and consultants under its published guidelines. In 2024-25 it evaluated 99% of contractors and averaged six bidders per procurement.
- Indigenous procurement. The federal minimum target is 5% of contract value. DCC reported 17% in 2025-26.
- Net-zero commitment. On procurements over $25 million, contractors must join Canada’s Net-Zero Challenge or an equivalent initiative.
Federal prompt payment
The Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act came into force on December 9, 2023. It sets a payment cascade from the Crown down through every tier of subcontractor, and a fast adjudication process for disputes. DCC states that it complies with the Act. One defence-specific detail stands out: under the dispute resolution regulations, adjudicators must hold “the appropriate level of security clearance” for the work in dispute.
Security: the schedule risk most teams underestimate
Many defence projects require contractors to hold an organization clearance under Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Contract Security Program, and individual workers to hold reliability status or a secret clearance. DCC can sponsor firms for clearance, and it posts advance procurement notices so firms can start early. The published timelines matter for planning:
- Designated Organization Screening (protected-level work): up to 4 months.
- Facility Security Clearance (classified work): 6 months or more.
- Personnel: reliability status takes 7 business days for simple cases and 120 for complex ones. A secret clearance adds 75 to 120 business days.
- Controlled Goods Program: registration has a 32-business-day service standard, which the program says is currently running “significantly longer.”
On defence programs we’ve supported, clearances belong on the critical path, not in a footnote. A trade package awarded to a firm that can’t yet put cleared workers on site is a delay that was predictable months earlier.
Buy Canadian and green building rules
Two newer policy layers now shape materials and design:
- Buy Canadian. Since December 16, 2025, federal projects of $25 million or more that use at least $250,000 of steel, aluminum or wood must use Canadian-made material where a Canadian source exists.
- Greening Government Strategy. New federal buildings must be net-zero carbon, unless a life-cycle cost analysis supports net-zero-ready construction. Major retrofits use a 40-year life-cycle cost analysis with a $300 per tonne shadow carbon price. Embodied carbon must fall 30% from 2025, and at least 90% of construction waste must be diverted from landfill.
- Embodied carbon in construction. Federal rules require lower-carbon ready-mix concrete (at least 10% below the regional average on qualifying projects), and since 2025 have added structural steel and whole-building life-cycle assessment requirements for larger buildings.
Gaps owners and contractors should plan for
- Put security lead times in the schedule. Model organization and personnel clearances as activities with realistic durations, linked to mobilization dates.
- Price and schedule Buy Canadian materials early. Confirm Canadian sources and lead times for steel, aluminum and wood during design, not at procurement.
- Collect carbon data from day one. Embodied carbon and life-cycle assessment requirements need supplier data that many trades aren’t used to providing. Build the reporting into specifications and payment milestones.
- Run the prompt payment clock tightly. Owners and their consultants need certification and payment workflows that hit the 21- and 28-day marks every time, or they invite adjudication.
- Match the delivery model to the market. With six bidders on average and a surge of work coming, progressive and collaborative models can keep capable contractors engaged where hard-bid packages draw thin interest.
The bottom line
Defence construction in Canada has clear, well-documented rules. Projects run into trouble when those rules are treated as paperwork instead of schedule and cost drivers. Teams that plan security, materials, carbon and payment requirements from the start deliver on time; teams that discover them at mobilization don’t.
Benjamin R. Consulting provides owner-side scheduling and project controls for defence and public capital programs. Book a 30-minute call to discuss your project.
Sources: DCC, Our mandate; DCC, 2025–26 Annual Report; DCC, 2024–25 Annual Report; DCC, 2023–24 Annual Report; DCC, 2022–23 Annual Report; DCC, 2026–27 Corporate Plan Summary; DCC, Standard Construction Contract Documents (DCL 250E); DCC, Industry FAQ; DCC, Security requirements; Federal Prompt Payment for Construction Work Act; Dispute Resolution Regulations (SOR/2023-271); PSPC, Organization security screening; PSPC, Personnel screening processing times; PSPC, Controlled Goods Program registration; PSPC, Buy Canadian Policy (December 2025); Treasury Board, Greening Government Strategy; Treasury Board, greening procurement progress; Contracting Policy Notice 2025-6. This article is general information, not legal advice.