On Tuesday, October 27, Niagara Region posted 2026-T-175, two new roadway illumination plants on Glenridge Avenue in St. Catharines. It's straight electrical work. But the bid page opens with a warning: Niagara has recently revised how bids, bid security and agreements to bond are to be submitted, and not following the current rules may get a bid declared non-compliant and disqualified.
We covered what each bond is and what Ontario law requires after award earlier this month. This one is about the paperwork: what goes in with the bid, what comes after award, and the mistakes that get a bid thrown out unopened.
What goes in with the bid
Bond and insurance amounts differ from tender to tender, so check the documents for your own bid before you go to your surety or broker.
A bid bond, usually 10%. Thunder Bay's Information to Tenderers asks for a digital bid bond for 10% of the total tendered price, on CCDC Form 220 or an equivalent form. Oshawa's Bid Submission Procedure also uses 10%, and spells out that it's 10% of the total bid amount including HST. Check which base your tender uses.
An agreement to bond. This is your surety's commitment to issue the performance and payment bonds if you win. Thunder Bay says every tender must include one, executed by a surety lawfully doing business in Ontario. Oshawa has bidders zip the bid deposit and agreement to bond into one file and upload it to a slot labelled "Bid Deposit and Agreement to Bond."
Sometimes another form of deposit. Not every buyer insists on a surety bond. The Town of Essex's procurement by-law lets a bid bond take the form of a certified cheque, bank draft or a bond from a bonding agency. Use what the document names.
Digital means verifiable, not scanned
Thunder Bay says scanned PDFs or bonds that can't be verified are not acceptable, and the instructions for checking the bond should be uploaded with it. Oshawa says the City must be able to authenticate digital bonds through a third-party firm, and lists being unable to verify a digital bond as a reason for rejection.
The Surety Association of Canada's e-bonding page sets out what a reliable electronic bond needs: the content can't be altered, access is limited to the people who should see it, and it can be shown to be properly signed and enforceable.
The mistakes that end a bid
North Bay's schedule of bid irregularities shows how strict this is. Each of these means rejection:
- No bid deposit or bid bond with the bid, or one that isn't in an acceptable form.
- A bid bond for too little.
- A missing surety or bidder signature on the bid bond.
- A bid bond whose effective period is shorter than the irrevocable period in the bid document.
- No agreement to bond, the wrong form, too low an amount, or a missing signature.
A missing statutory declaration, by contrast, gets two business days to fix. Bond problems don't get that grace.
What comes after award
Performance and payment bonds. Oshawa takes either a 100% performance bond, or 50% performance plus 50% labour and material payment bonds, each based on the total contract price including taxes. They have to stay in force through the warranty or maintenance period. Oshawa wants the required documents within ten calendar days of notice. Thunder Bay gives two weeks, and the deposit is forfeited if the winner doesn't sign or produce the bonds in time. North Bay lists the same failure as rejection and forfeiture.
The insurance certificate. Essex sets its own minimums: $2 million general liability and $2 million auto liability on contracts up to $1 million, and $5 million each above that. The Town must be named as an additional insured, and the certificate has to be delivered before any work starts. Other buyers set their own limits.
WSIB. Essex releases holdback only after, among other things, clearance from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) for any assessment arrears. Keep your clearance current.
A short checklist
- Send the tender number, closing date and bond requirements to your surety the week you decide to bid.
- Confirm the bid bond percentage and whether it includes HST.
- Check that the bond is digital, verifiable and open for at least the irrevocable period.
- Upload the bid bond and agreement to bond exactly where the portal asks.
- Ask your broker now whether your liability limits meet the tender's insurance section.
If anything here differs from your tender documents, the documents win.
Sources
- Niagara Region 2026-T-175, Two New Illumination Plants on Glenridge Avenue (bids&tenders)
- City of Thunder Bay: Information to Tenderers (Section 00100)
- City of Oshawa: Bid Submission Procedure
- Town of Essex: Procurement By-law
- City of North Bay: By-law 2019-54, Schedule of Bid Irregularities
- Surety Association of Canada: E-Bonding