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ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2026

Québec’s New Municipal Contracting Framework Comes Into Effect

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
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On April 1, 2026, Québec’s Act respecting contracting by municipal bodies[1] (ARCMB) came into force.

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Nathalie Beauregard
Nathalie Beauregard
Francois Laurin-Pratte
Francois Laurin-Pratte
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Key Takeaways

  • The Act respecting contracting by municipal bodies modernizes Québec’s municipal contracting rules by consolidating previous rules into a single statute and introduces new contract awarding procedures.
  • Municipal bodies must now actively select awarding procedures, moving away from default selection of the lowest compliant bidder.
  • The new contract category of “partnership contract” encourages collaboration in equipment and infrastructure projects, allowing for flexible risk and responsibility sharing.

On April 1, 2026, Québec’s Act respecting contracting by municipal bodies1 (ARCMB) came into force.

The ARCMB is the result of a deliberate push to modernize and consolidate Québec’s municipal contracting rules into a single statute. These rules had long been scattered across multiple acts, including the Cities and Towns Act and the Municipal Code of Québec. The ARCMB also aligns municipal contracting rules more closely with certain provisions of the Act

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