Ontario municipalities are under mounting pressure to do more with less. Rising healthcare-related expenses, aging populations, and tighter budgets mean every dollar must be stretched further. The Financial Accountability Office projects healthcare spending will reach nearly $94 billion by 2027-28, outpacing revenue growth and leaving municipalities to absorb new financial and operational pressures. 

For CAOs and procurement leaders, this isn’t just a numbers problem. It’s about maintaining reliable services, protecting budgets, and reducing risk — all with limited staff capacity. Procurement, often viewed as a back-office function, has emerged as a powerful lever to help municipalities maintain fiscal stability and service excellence. 

The Challenge – What Municipalities Are Up Against 

• Administrative Burden: Tendering, compliance, supplier evaluations, and contract reporting consume staff time and slow down projects. 

• Limited Resources: Smaller procurement teams often struggle to keep up with increasingly complex requirements. 

• Supply Chain Fragility: Recent global disruptions revealed the risks of just-in-time delivery and the consequences of shortages. 

• Budget Pressures: Every overspend on supplies pulls resources away from essential local services such as housing, recreation, infrastructure, and paramedic services. 

The Solution – Smarter Procurement Strategies 

Municipalities have proven options to strengthen operations while reducing costs: 

• Collective Purchasing Power 
  By pooling demand across entities, municipalities can achieve nationally negotiated pricing that delivers 5%–60% in savings — far beyond what any municipality could achieve alone. 

• Reduced Administrative Burden 
  Access to more than 3,500 pre-negotiated, fully compliant contracts eliminates time-consuming tendering and frees staff to focus on higher-value priorities. 

• Resilience & Risk Reduction 
  With 700+ prequalified suppliers, municipalities benefit from stability and earlier warnings of shortages or recalls, reducing the risk of service disruption. 

• Local Flexibility 
  Municipalities retain control and responsiveness to community-specific needs while benefiting from national scale. 

These strategies aren’t just theoretical — municipalities across Ontario are already realizing these benefits through HealthPRO Canada. 

Proof in Action: Municipal Case Studies 

In Durham Region: 

“Thanks to our HealthPRO Canada membership, we are able to reinvest contract savings back into our long-term care homes, strengthening our ability to deliver high quality care and services to our residents.” – Regional Municipality of Durham 

At Halton Paramedic Services: 

“HealthPRO Canada is so straightforward, we got comfortable with what they do and how they do it within a few months. Without HealthPRO Canada, we’d have immediately added at least one full-time logistics employee to handle the growth.” – Randy McDougall, Superintendent of Logistics, Halton Paramedic Services 

These examples show how procurement savings can be redirected to frontline care, or how shared services can free up staff capacity to focus on what matters most. 

The Impact – Why It Matters to CAOs and Councils 

• Every $1 saved can be redirected into important investments such as infrastructure or emergency services. 

• Reliable supply chains safeguard municipal reputations and protect residents from disruption. 

• Leaner procurement processes protect budgets while reducing staff workload. 

Ready to explore how collective procurement can unlock savings and stability for your municipality?  
 
Procurement is no longer just about compliance — it’s a strategic tool for municipalities to safeguard budgets, strengthen resilience, and deliver better services to their communities. 

HealthPRO Canada is proud to serve as a trusted procurement partner for municipalities across Ontario. Join more than 2,000 public organizations across the country, including EMS and healthcare facilities, that rely on our model to do more with less. 
 
To find out more, book a 30-minute info session to see how municipalities are saving money and strengthening services through HealthPRO Canada.