The head of the department overseeing the Canada Revenue Agency is standing by the decision to grant a $12 million security contract to a Canadian branch of a U.S. multinational corporation instead of the Commissionaires.
Commissionaires, established in 1925, is a non-profit security organization created to offer meaningful jobs to veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and police forces.
Public documents reveal that in June 2026, the CRA awarded the contract to Universal Protection Service of Canada Corporation, a subsidiary of Allied Universal Security Services, a company connected to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation program.
This move follows the federal government informing Commissionaires that they would no longer have priority for most government contracts. The bidding process for the CRA contract was competitive, and the Commissionaires lost out in the recent tender by a small margin of $80,000, less than one percent of the contract’s value.
Geoff Hamilton, President and CEO of Commissionaires Great Lakes, described the situation as typical public sector procurement.
The opposition has criticized the government’s decision, with Conservative MP Michael Barrett questioning why Canadian veterans and companies were not given preference. Wayne Long, the CRA’s Secretary of State, defended the selection process, clarifying that cabinet did not influence the decision to choose the private company.
NDP MP Gord Johns also voiced concerns about awarding the contract to a foreign-owned entity with ties to ICE instead of a Canadian-owned institution supporting veterans.
Allied Universal stated that it is a Canadian company with over 10,000 employees and numerous offices nationwide, emphasizing its longstanding relationship with various U.S. government agencies.
A spokesperson for Long reiterated that the CRA’s evaluation criteria encompass factors beyond cost, such as past performance, business continuity planning, and recruitment capabilities. The spokesperson affirmed that decisions are made independently without political intervention.