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Services tender competition
Across 184,316 services tenders with named bidders, the average call draws 1.78 bids and 75.4% close with one offer.
What this measures
Across 184,316 Quebec services tenders on which bidder identities are published, the average call draws 1.78 bidders and 75.4% close with exactly one offer. Services — consulting, IT, maintenance, professional work — is the largest and thinnest category of public tendering.
The category contrast is the finding: works (construction) tenders average 3.14 bidders with a 34.6% single-bid rate across n=78,474, and goods average 1.61 with 74.4% across n=110,873. Physical-delivery markets contest; services markets default to one name.
| Category | Tenders | Avg bidders | Single-bid rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Services | 184,316 | 1.78 | 75.4% |
| Works | 78,474 | 3.14 | 34.6% |
| Goods | 110,873 | 1.61 | 74.4% |
Methodology
Denominator: Quebec SEAO tenders with at least one named bidder, 2021–2026, classified by procurement category. Average bidders is the mean count of named bidders per tender; single-bid rate is the share of tenders with exactly one named bidder. Source: competition-index.json (competition_intensity), October 2026 release.
This page is the canonical citation for the services-competition statistic. The full series — yearly volumes, buyers, methods, and active bidders — is on the Quebec tender series page; the cross-category analysis is on Competition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average number of bidders on a services tender?
1.78 bidders, measured across 184,316 Quebec services tenders with named bidders (2021–2026). Services is the thinnest category: works tenders average 3.14 bidders and goods 1.61.
What share of services tenders receive exactly one bid?
75.4%. Three of every four services calls close with a single offer — effectively sole-source by default, even where a tender was run.
Why measure Quebec only?
Quebec's SEAO publishes bidder identities on tenders; most Canadian jurisdictions do not. Bidder-level competition is measurable only where bidders are named, so the measure is bounded by that coverage. Federal competition is proxied by the no-tender rate instead.
Is a single bid the same as a sole-source contract?
No. A single-bid tender was advertised but drew one offer; a sole-source contract was never tendered. Both reduce competition, but they are different administrative events and are measured separately.
Public Service Index (October 2026). Services tender competition. Release 2026.10. https://publicserviceindex.org/stats/competition