Telus had reached an understanding with the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development earlier to not use Huawei's equipment in the region, the report said. The commitment was voluntary and was never formalised, it added.

Most of Canada’s federal government offices are in the national capital region.

Earlier this month, Telus picked Nokia and Ericsson over Huawei as its 5G equipment supplier amid uncertainty over Huawei’s fate in the country.

Canada, which is reviewing security implications of 5G networks, is yet to decide whether to allow Huawei to provide equipment for the country’s telcos.

But the news that the government wants Telus to rip out 4G gear with the Huawei sticker could be unnecessarily costly.