Value Proposition
The economic proposal that major bidders submit to Canada. It is procurement-specific, evidence-based, and scored along with technical and cost elements.
Key Industrial Capabilities that target emerging technologies and critical industrial strengths Canada wants to reinforce through defence procurement.
Canadian Content Value: the Canadian-cost portion of a product or service transaction, measured in Canadian dollars and used for crediting.
What that means for Canadian companies
Your company should know which pillar best fits its offer
Not every company needs a direct-defence manufacturing story to matter
R&D, exports, commercialization, and supply-chain strengthening can all be relevant
KIC alignment helps companies look relevant to the right procurement logic.
The source materials reference emerging technologies like AI, cyber resilience, autonomous systems, space systems, and advanced materials, along with critical capabilities like aerospace systems, defence systems integration, marine systems, sonar, training and simulation, and in-service support.
Strong positioning usually starts with selecting the few KIC areas a company can defend credibly, not trying to claim everything.
Typical KIC positioning questions
Which technology or industrial capability do you actually deliver today?
What adjacent defence or regulated-sector relevance can you prove?
Can your capability support a prime’s economic proposal or fulfillment need?
Is your story stronger as direct work, indirect work, or both?
What the source materials include in CCV
Wages paid to Canadians or permanent residents
Utilities, maintenance, and rent paid in Canada
What the source materials exclude from CCV
Royalties and license fees paid to non-Canadians
Proposal costs, taxes, duties, and certain other non-creditable items
Need help translating your business into ITB-ready language?
We can help identify your strongest VP pillar, sharpen your KIC narrative, and clarify where your Canadian-content story is commercially useful.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ITB value proposition?
It is the set of commitments a bidder makes about the Canadian business activity it will generate, submitted with the bid and rated as part of the procurement evaluation.
What are Key Industrial Capabilities?
KICs are the industrial and technology areas Canada has identified as priorities. Work that aligns with a KIC is weighted more favourably in value proposition assessment.
What does Canadian Content Value measure?
CCV measures the Canadian portion of the value of goods and services in a transaction — the labour, materials and overhead actually incurred in Canada — which is what counts toward an obligation.
How does a supplier use this vocabulary?
By describing its capability in the same terms the prime is scored on: which KIC it maps to, what Canadian content it carries, and which value proposition pillar it strengthens.