# Who's who in BC public buying, from cities to Crowns > BC public buying is spread across hundreds of organisations: municipalities and regional districts, school districts, health authorities, colleges and universities, Crown corporations, provincial ministries and federal departments. Each sets its own rules within shared trade agreements and posts in its own places. Knowing who buys your kind of work, and how, is the first step to finding steady contracts. By James DeGreef. Updated 2026-10-24. Facts checked 2026-10-24. Source page: https://crewbid.tech/articles/whos-who-bc-public-buying When people say "government contracts," they picture one big buyer. In BC there are hundreds. A small town with a few staff buys snow plowing. A health authority with tens of thousands of employees buys hospital cleaning. A Crown corporation buys line clearing. A federal department buys building maintenance at a single detachment. They all follow broadly similar rules, but each one has its own habits, people and portals. Here is a plain map of who they are and what they tend to buy from small firms. ## The MASH sector Trade agreements group a big part of public buying under the label **MASH**: municipalities, academic institutions, school boards and hospitals (health). The MASH sector is covered by the New West Partnership Trade Agreement and the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, which set the dollar thresholds above which purchases have to be openly posted. See [public tender thresholds](https://crewbid.tech/guides/public-tender-thresholds-bc). **Municipalities and regional districts.** BC has more than 160 municipalities and 27 regional districts, plus improvement districts and other local bodies. They buy almost everything a trade does: snow removal, grounds, janitorial, roads, parks, water and sewer work, building maintenance and small construction. See [selling to BC municipalities](https://crewbid.tech/guides/bc-municipal-contracts). **School districts.** BC has 60 school districts. They buy maintenance, custodial support, roofing, HVAC, snow clearing, grounds, buses and IT, much of it timed around summer break. See [school district contracts](https://crewbid.tech/guides/bc-school-district-contracts). **Health authorities.** Five regional health authorities plus PHSA and others. Much of their buying runs through PHSA Supply Chain on BC Bid, and facilities work is often regional. See [health authority contracts](https://crewbid.tech/guides/bc-health-authority-contracts). **Colleges and universities.** Public post-secondary institutions run campuses with large maintenance, cleaning, security and IT needs, and many post on their own sites or on shared portals. ## The provincial government **Ministries** buy through BC Bid, often using pre-qualified lists for services. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit contracts out road and bridge maintenance regionally, which is some of the biggest service work in the province, along with smaller jobs for local firms. **Crown corporations** such as BC Hydro, ICBC, BC Housing and BC Ferries buy on their own terms and portals. They tend to have formal supplier registration and safety requirements, and many use pre-qualified lists. See [standing offers and pre-qualified lists](https://crewbid.tech/guides/standing-offers-prequalified-lists). ## The federal government Federal departments and agencies in BC (Public Services and Procurement Canada, the RCMP, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, National Defence and others) post on **CanadaBuys**. Federal work runs from small site jobs to large facility contracts, with its own registration steps and security rules. See [federal contracts in BC](https://crewbid.tech/guides/federal-contracts-bc). ## The wider public and non-profit sector Beyond government itself, there are housing societies, airports, port authorities, transit operators and First Nations governments. Some follow public procurement rules, some do not, and many are good clients for small firms. See [working for First Nations as buyers](https://crewbid.tech/articles/first-nations-as-buyers). ## Why the map matters Each type of buyer has a rhythm. Municipalities follow a budget adopted early in the year. School districts work toward summer. Federal buyers spend toward their March 31 year-end. See [the public budget calendar](https://crewbid.tech/articles/public-budget-calendar-bc). Knowing which buyers in your area buy your trade, and when, lets you prepare instead of reacting. It also tells you where to look. Opportunities are spread across BC Bid, CanadaBuys, municipal sites and other portals. See [where BC tenders are posted](https://crewbid.tech/guides/where-bc-tenders-are-posted). CrewBid pulls these together by trade and area, and the [sources page](https://crewbid.tech/sources) lists where we look. A good first step: list the ten public buyers within an hour of your yard, look up what each bought in your trade over the last few years, and note when those contracts end. That short list is the start of a pipeline. Read [why the best contracts come back](https://crewbid.tech/articles/why-contracts-come-back). ## Sources - [Local government in BC (Province of BC)](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/facts-framework/systems) - [New West Partnership Trade Agreement: MASH sector](https://www.newwestpartnershiptrade.ca/government_mash_sector.HTM) - [Procurement opportunities (Province of BC)](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/bc-procurement-resources/sell-to-government/procurement-opportunities)