CCDC released updated versions of CCDC 14 and CCDC 15 in July 2026, together with first editions of CCDC 32 and CCDC 33 for progressive design-build. The updates align the documents expressly with prompt payment and adjudication legislation across the provinces and increase insurance requirements.
The change with the longest tail is the move to a ready-for-takeover milestone in place of substantial performance as the trigger for warranty periods and claims deadlines. That decouples the contractual clock from the Construction Act concept it used to track. Supplementary condition libraries built on the 2013 form need to be reviewed rather than carried forward, because lien expiry, holdback release and warranty commencement no longer follow from the same event.
The new progressive forms give Canadian owners an off-the-shelf two-phase structure — a project development phase, then design and construction — with owner gates to accept, request changes or terminate. That matters beyond drafting: it places a formal commercial decision point in the middle of the schedule, and the deliverables supporting that gate become part of the project record.
For anyone administering these contracts, the practical work is reconciliation. Map the milestones in the contract against the statutory milestones, confirm which one starts each clock, and make sure the progress reporting actually evidences the one the contract relies on.
What we recommend
- Review supplementary conditions built on CCDC 14 (2013) before reusing them.
- Map contractual milestones against statutory ones and confirm which clock each starts.
- Plan development phase deliverables as schedule activities with gate dates.
Commentary prepared by Elite Analytics Inc. for general information. It is not legal advice.