Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Building permits
The value of building permits rose 18.0% in October to $6.1 billion. The increase was mainly a result of gains in the value of non-residential permits and in construction intentions for single-family dwellings.
In the residential sector, the value of permits was up for a third consecutive month. Residential construction intentions climbed 3.8% to $3.4 billion. Ontario and Quebec accounted for much of the growth seen at the national level.
In the non-residential sector, municipalities issued permits worth $2.7 billion, up 42.4% following a 9.2% decline in September. All three components of non-residential construction permits increased in October.
The total value of building permits increased in six provinces, led by Alberta and Ontario.
Municipalities issued building permits worth $48.3 billion between January and October, 20.8% less than in the same period in 2008.
Non-residential sector: Gains in every component
Intentions increased in every component of the non-residential sector in October.
In the industrial component, the value of building permits doubled to $709 million. This was the third consecutive monthly increase, fuelled by higher construction intentions in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.
After four monthly consecutive declines, the value of institutional building permits increased 50.9% to $904 million. The gain was largely attributable to educational institution projects in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and British Columbia. Ontario had an increase in the value of permits for medical buildings.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which eases comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations.
The Building Permits Survey covers 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the population. It provides an early indication of building activity. The communities representing the other 5% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total.
The value of planned construction activities shown in this release excludes engineering projects (e.g., waterworks, sewers or culverts) and land.
For the purpose of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: Gatineau part and Ottawa part.
The value of commercial building permits totalled $1.1 billion, up 15.3% from September. The increase was mainly due to construction intentions for office buildings and retail stores in Ontario and warehouses in Saskatchewan.
Residential sector: The increase in permits for single-family dwellings more than offset the decline in multiple dwellings
An increase in the value of building permits for single-family dwellings more than offset a decline in multiple dwelling intentions.
The value of building permits for single-family dwellings increased for an eighth consecutive month, up 10.1% to $2.4 billion in October. Every province except Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island contributed to the advance in single-family construction intentions.
The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings fell 8.2% to $1.0 billion, after increasing 34.3% in September. British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia had the largest declines, while Ontario posted the biggest gain in construction intentions for multi-family dwellings.
Municipalities approved the construction of 15,725 new dwelling units in October, up 0.5%. The 8.2% increase in the number of single-family dwellings, which totalled 8,264, more than offset the 6.9% decline in the number of multi-family dwellings, which totalled 7,461.
Strong gains in Alberta and Ontario
The value of building permits was up in six provinces.
The largest increases were in Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec. All four provinces saw growth in the value of building permits for single-family dwellings and in the non-residential sector.
After substantial gains in September, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia posted the largest declines in October.
Metropolitan areas: Large increases in Toronto and Calgary
The total value of permits was up in 20 of the 34 census metropolitan areas.
The strongest gains were in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton. They were attributable to increases in the non-residential sector and single-family construction intentions.
In contrast, the largest declines were in Kingston and the census metropolitan area of Québec. They stemmed from decreases in all components.
Available on CANSIM: tables 026-0001 to 026-0008 and 026-0010.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2802.
The October 2009 issue of Building Permits (64-001-X, free) will soon be available.
The November building permits data will be released on January 11, 2010.
To order data, contact Jasmine Gaudreault (toll-free 1-800-579-8533; 613-951-6321; bdp_information@statcan.gc.ca). For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Nicole Charron (613-951-0087), Investment and Capital Stock Division.
Table 1
| June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009r | October 2009p | September to October 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| $ millions | % change | |||||
| Total | 3,841.2 | 3,258.9 | 3,580.9 | 3,772.0 | 4,599.5 | 21.9 |
| St. John's | 37.6 | 51.6 | 40.2 | 29.0 | 37.3 | 28.8 |
| Halifax | 65.9 | 63.6 | 43.5 | 55.7 | 47.3 | -15.0 |
| Moncton | 18.9 | 29.4 | 17.3 | 21.5 | 32.0 | 48.4 |
| Saint John | 21.5 | 27.8 | 15.8 | 76.8 | 16.4 | -78.6 |
| Saguenay | 27.2 | 29.0 | 22.8 | 19.5 | 66.8 | 241.8 |
| Québec | 141.7 | 123.4 | 144.8 | 187.5 | 124.5 | -33.6 |
| Sherbrooke | 43.2 | 46.6 | 35.5 | 31.0 | 30.9 | -0.3 |
| Trois-Rivières | 34.0 | 24.8 | 20.6 | 37.7 | 34.9 | -7.3 |
| Montréal | 558.1 | 534.2 | 477.3 | 507.8 | 578.0 | 13.8 |
| Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec | 183.0 | 193.7 | 192.1 | 189.4 | 188.8 | -0.3 |
| Gatineau part | 33.4 | 30.1 | 34.7 | 41.2 | 34.1 | -17.1 |
| Ottawa part | 149.6 | 163.7 | 157.4 | 148.2 | 154.7 | 4.4 |
| Kingston | 13.6 | 14.3 | 15.0 | 97.4 | 11.2 | -88.5 |
| Peterborough | 7.3 | 13.3 | 32.4 | 9.9 | 27.6 | 178.0 |
| Oshawa | 14.8 | 37.8 | 36.9 | 60.9 | 87.0 | 43.0 |
| Toronto | 928.1 | 434.4 | 796.0 | 733.8 | 1,042.2 | 42.0 |
| Hamilton | 157.8 | 117.1 | 42.0 | 50.5 | 59.5 | 17.8 |
| St. Catharines–Niagara | 25.5 | 25.4 | 36.2 | 79.8 | 27.6 | -65.4 |
| Kitchener | 94.4 | 90.6 | 56.3 | 108.4 | 78.5 | -27.6 |
| Brantford | 5.7 | 27.9 | 16.8 | 7.3 | 5.1 | -29.1 |
| Guelph | 41.4 | 31.3 | 12.3 | 13.6 | 31.8 | 134.6 |
| London | 35.7 | 69.5 | 78.7 | 93.3 | 56.1 | -39.9 |
| Windsor | 39.1 | 14.4 | 12.4 | 15.4 | 34.6 | 124.7 |
| Barrie | 24.0 | 13.1 | 29.8 | 11.9 | 39.4 | 230.7 |
| Greater Sudbury | 33.7 | 21.1 | 28.7 | 15.5 | 33.0 | 112.8 |
| Thunder Bay | 8.9 | 10.0 | 4.7 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 19.0 |
| Winnipeg | 79.6 | 105.8 | 76.8 | 57.8 | 77.9 | 34.8 |
| Regina | 44.7 | 42.0 | 37.7 | 29.9 | 85.3 | 184.9 |
| Saskatoon | 38.9 | 75.3 | 47.3 | 58.9 | 126.8 | 115.4 |
| Calgary | 424.1 | 266.0 | 243.9 | 311.1 | 588.0 | 89.0 |
| Edmonton | 231.0 | 295.1 | 354.8 | 363.4 | 587.7 | 61.7 |
| Kelowna | 163.2 | 30.1 | 144.9 | 30.2 | 25.9 | -14.3 |
| Abbotsford–Mission | 13.3 | 9.1 | 13.8 | 13.8 | 14.0 | 1.3 |
| Vancouver | 245.5 | 348.3 | 381.0 | 376.9 | 344.4 | -8.6 |
| Victoria | 39.6 | 42.7 | 72.5 | 65.9 | 46.3 | -29.7 |
Table 2
| June 2009 | July 2009 | August 2009 | September 2009r | October 2009p | September to October 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||||
| $ millions | % change | |||||
| Canada | 5,201.5 | 4,679.7 | 5,025.4 | 5,184.5 | 6,117.3 | 18.0 |
| Residential | 2,704.3 | 2,621.3 | 2,923.6 | 3,276.1 | 3,400.7 | 3.8 |
| Non-residential | 2,497.1 | 2,058.4 | 2,101.8 | 1,908.4 | 2,716.6 | 42.4 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 63.5 | 75.9 | 64.1 | 51.9 | 68.1 | 31.3 |
| Residential | 52.2 | 48.2 | 43.8 | 41.5 | 41.2 | -0.8 |
| Non-residential | 11.4 | 27.7 | 20.3 | 10.4 | 26.9 | 160.0 |
| Prince Edward Island | 11.5 | 19.8 | 20.0 | 20.3 | 14.1 | -30.8 |
| Residential | 7.5 | 14.8 | 12.7 | 12.9 | 10.2 | -20.8 |
| Non-residential | 4.0 | 5.0 | 7.3 | 7.5 | 3.9 | -48.2 |
| Nova Scotia | 135.6 | 138.6 | 106.8 | 124.9 | 105.1 | -15.8 |
| Residential | 61.9 | 78.8 | 72.6 | 86.0 | 60.7 | -29.4 |
| Non-residential | 73.7 | 59.9 | 34.2 | 38.9 | 44.4 | 14.1 |
| New Brunswick | 93.6 | 124.4 | 82.2 | 136.7 | 89.6 | -34.4 |
| Residential | 51.7 | 53.0 | 50.7 | 49.5 | 53.8 | 8.5 |
| Non-residential | 41.9 | 71.5 | 31.5 | 87.1 | 35.9 | -58.8 |
| Quebec | 1,178.4 | 1,102.0 | 1,047.7 | 1,175.7 | 1,286.4 | 9.4 |
| Residential | 733.7 | 690.7 | 706.2 | 733.0 | 786.8 | 7.3 |
| Non-residential | 444.7 | 411.3 | 341.5 | 442.7 | 499.6 | 12.9 |
| Ontario | 1,897.2 | 1,397.7 | 1,686.8 | 1,812.5 | 2,060.8 | 13.7 |
| Residential | 969.1 | 780.7 | 1,012.5 | 1,110.1 | 1,211.5 | 9.1 |
| Non-residential | 928.1 | 617.0 | 674.2 | 702.3 | 849.3 | 20.9 |
| Manitoba | 161.1 | 169.5 | 129.9 | 105.7 | 128.9 | 21.9 |
| Residential | 77.6 | 74.7 | 69.1 | 74.4 | 80.5 | 8.2 |
| Non-residential | 83.5 | 94.8 | 60.8 | 31.3 | 48.4 | 54.7 |
| Saskatchewan | 136.8 | 216.0 | 139.1 | 140.4 | 275.6 | 96.3 |
| Residential | 57.2 | 70.7 | 61.6 | 63.2 | 75.6 | 19.7 |
| Non-residential | 79.7 | 145.3 | 77.5 | 77.3 | 200.0 | 158.8 |
| Alberta | 846.0 | 771.6 | 796.2 | 917.4 | 1,395.9 | 52.2 |
| Residential | 368.2 | 426.1 | 534.9 | 597.0 | 600.3 | 0.5 |
| Non-residential | 477.8 | 345.6 | 261.3 | 320.4 | 795.6 | 148.3 |
| British Columbia | 634.2 | 619.0 | 916.8 | 674.8 | 666.6 | -1.2 |
| Residential | 312.0 | 373.7 | 350.3 | 495.4 | 475.5 | -4.0 |
| Non-residential | 322.1 | 245.3 | 566.5 | 179.4 | 191.1 | 6.5 |
| Yukon | 5.7 | 6.6 | 15.6 | 13.2 | 11.4 | -13.3 |
| Residential | 3.3 | 6.3 | 2.5 | 8.2 | 3.3 | -59.1 |
| Non-residential | 2.4 | 0.4 | 13.1 | 5.0 | 8.1 | 61.3 |
| Northwest Territories | 19.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 13.7 | 165.5 |
| Residential | 1.2 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 0.5 | -67.1 |
| Non-residential | 17.8 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 13.1 | 268.1 |
| Nunavut | 18.9 | 34.8 | 17.8 | 6.0 | 1.1 | -82.2 |
| Residential | 8.8 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 3.3 | 0.6 | -81.1 |
| Non-residential | 10.1 | 33.1 | 12.3 | 2.6 | 0.4 | -83.6 |
