> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.northaxiumdata.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Search Federal Contracts

> Query 1.3M+ federal procurement records to find vendor contract history, departmental spend, and procurement patterns.

The NorthAxium Data contracts API gives you access to 1.3M+ federal procurement records from CanadaBuys and TBS Proactive Disclosure. This guide walks through the most common query patterns — searching by vendor, filtering by department and value, and pulling aggregated statistics.

## Prerequisites

* A NorthAxium Data API key ([get one here](https://northaxiumdata.ca) or use the [free demo key](/authentication))
* Python 3.8+ with the `requests` library installed (`pip install requests`)

## Search contracts by vendor

The most common use case: find all contracts awarded to a specific company.

```python theme={null}
import requests

# your API key
API_KEY = "your_api_key_here"
BASE_URL = "https://api.northaxiumdata.ca/api/v1"
headers = {"X-API-Key": API_KEY}

# search contracts for a vendor
params = {
    "vendor": "Palantir",   # partial match — finds all Palantir entities
    "limit": 10,
}

response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/contracts", headers=headers, params=params)
data = response.json()

print(f"Total contracts found: {data['meta']['total']}")
print()

for contract in data["data"]:
    print(f"Vendor:     {contract['vendor']}")
    print(f"Department: {contract['department']}")
    print(f"Value:      ${contract['value']:,.0f}")
    print(f"Date:       {contract['date']}")
    print(f"Method:     {contract['procurement_method']}")
    print("---")
```

## Filter by department and value range

Narrow results to a specific department and minimum contract size.

```python theme={null}
params = {
    "department": "National Defence",   # partial match on department name
    "min_value": 1000000,               # contracts over $1M CAD
    "date_from": "2022-01-01",
    "date_to": "2024-12-31",
    "limit": 20,
}

response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/contracts", headers=headers, params=params)
data = response.json()

total_value = sum(c["value"] for c in data["data"] if c.get("value"))
print(f"Found {data['meta']['total']} contracts — showing {len(data['data'])}")
print(f"Total value in result set: ${total_value:,.0f}")
```

## Get an aggregated vendor profile

Once you've found a vendor, pull their full procurement profile — total value, top departments, and recent contracts.

```python theme={null}
# Step 1: browse vendors to find the exact source string
browse = requests.get(
    f"{BASE_URL}/vendors",
    headers=headers,
    params={"q": "Palantir"}
)
vendors = browse.json()["data"]

print("Matching vendors:")
for v in vendors:
    print(f"  {v['vendor']} — ${v['total_value']:,.0f} across {v['contract_count']} contracts")

# Step 2: use the exact string to get the full profile
exact_name = vendors[0]["vendor"]
profile_response = requests.get(
    f"{BASE_URL}/vendors/{exact_name}",
    headers=headers
)
profile = profile_response.json()["data"]

print(f"\nVendor profile: {profile['vendor']}")
print(f"Total value: ${profile['total_value']:,.0f}")
print(f"Contract count: {profile['contract_count']}")
print("\nTop departments:")
for dept in profile["departments"][:3]:
    print(f"  {dept['name']}: ${dept['total_value']:,.0f}")
```

## Get departmental spending statistics

Rank all departments by total procurement spend.

```python theme={null}
params = {
    "group_by": "department",
    "limit": 10,
}

response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/contracts/stats", headers=headers, params=params)
stats = response.json()["data"]

print("Top departments by total contract value:")
for i, row in enumerate(stats, 1):
    print(f"  {i}. {row['group_value']}: ${row['sum_value']:,.0f} ({row['record_count']} contracts)")
```

## What's happening here

**`vendor` parameter** — partial, case-insensitive match. `"Palantir"` matches `Palantir Technologies Canada Inc`, `Palantir Technologies Inc`, and any other variant in the source data. Use [Browse Vendors](/api-reference/vendors/list) to see all matching strings before profiling.

**`department` parameter** — same partial match behaviour. Federal department names in the source are often bilingual (e.g. `National Defence | Défense nationale`). Passing `"National Defence"` will match the bilingual form.

**`procurement_method`** — common values include `Non-competitive`, `Competitive - Open Bidding`, `Competitive - Selective Tendering`. Use exact string matching on this field.

**Two-step vendor pattern** — always browse first, then profile. The profile endpoint requires the exact source string. Browsing first surfaces all name variants so you pick the right one.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Contracts API Reference" icon="file-contract" href="/api-reference/contracts/list">
    Full parameter reference for the contracts endpoint
  </Card>

  <Card title="Vendor Profiles" icon="building" href="/api-reference/vendors/profile">
    Aggregated profile for any named vendor
  </Card>

  <Card title="Department Profiles" icon="landmark" href="/api-reference/departments/profile">
    Departmental spend breakdowns
  </Card>

  <Card title="Find Lobbying Activity" icon="comments" href="/guides/find-lobbying-activity">
    Cross-reference contract wins with lobbying records
  </Card>
</CardGroup>