New provincial rules require the City of Hamilton to track the origin of all vehicle and construction purchases. The Ontario government’s newly issued Municipal Buy Ontario Procurement Directive mandates that municipalities “prioritize the procurement of Ontario and Canadian goods and services.” Hamilton is now working to comply with the policy.
This requirement stems directly from procurement failures like the Barton/Tiffany Tiny Homes project, where the City’s senior-most directors spent $2 million to purchase 40 metal shipping containers from an unvetted vendor without examining the product, verifying quality, or executing any meaningful contract. Senior staff paid Microshelters Inc. $2,039,027 before the containers had even left China.
Hamilton is the largest municipality in Ontario without robust procurement controls—a gap that became starkly apparent during the Barton/Tiffany fiasco. Internal City reports confirm that senior staff never inquired into the sourcing of the units. Nearly two years later, Hamilton still cannot identify the actual manufacturer. The municipality ultimately spent over $500,000 to modify the 40 shipping containers into living units for the Barton/Tiffany emergency outdoor shelter.
New Policy Requirements for Made-in-Ontario Construction, Furniture, and Fixtures
The new directive requires Ontario’s 444 municipalities to purchase Made-in-Ontario vehicles for all light-duty passenger fleet vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,500 kilograms or less, regardless of purchase value.
The directive also mandates prioritizing Made-in-Ontario goods for construction materials, transit fleet vehicles, and “any fixtures, furniture and equipment included in and incidental to and required for the facility’s operational readiness immediately following construction.”
Municipalities are required to submit annual compliance reports confirming adherence to the Directive.
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Published: May 18, 2026
Last updated: May 18, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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