Start your survey
Have you been invited to participate in this survey via email or mail? To log in to the survey, complete the following steps.
Step 1: Visit the electronic questionnaire portal and select Start my survey.
Step 2: Enter your secure access code (you will find this code in the invitation letter or email you previously received from Statistics Canada).
Step 3: Complete the survey.
Are you missing your secure access code, or do you need help?
Phone:
1-877-949-9492
(TTY: 1-800-363-7629)
Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern time
If you use an operator-assisted relay service, you can call us during regular business hours. You do not need to authorize the operator to contact us.
Email:
Results of this survey will enable Statistics Canada to estimate residential and non-residential construction activity at various geographical levels. The latter are published monthly, and are available on the Statistics Canada website.
Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes. In addition, information from partially completed or unsaved questionnaires may be retained and used.
Collection period:
First 20 days following the end of the reference month
Collection methods:
Electronic questionnaire and telephone interview
Survey participation:
Mandatory under the Statistics Act
Confidentiality
Your answers are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act and will be kept strictly confidential.
By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. The confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act are not affected by either the Access to Information Act or any other legislation.
Information from this survey will be used for statistical purposes only and will be published in aggregate form only.
Data sharing agreements and record linkage
Data sharing agreements
To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into a data sharing agreement with provincial and territorial statistical agencies, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes.
Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies. For this survey, there are data sharing agreements with Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Shared data will be limited to information from the respective province or territory. Each provincial or territorial Statistics Act includes the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of information as the Statistics Act.
Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data, and mailing it to the following address:
Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Investment, Science and Technology Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6
You may also contact us by email, at Statistics Canada Help Desk or by fax, at 613-951-6583.
Statistics Canada has entered into data sharing agreements under Section 12 of the Statistics Act with Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Natural Resources Canada (NRC), Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), as well as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.
Record linkage
To enhance the data from this survey and reduce response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the information you provide with data from other surveys or administrative sources.
Topics covered in the survey
The survey asks questions about
- Residential construction and non-residential construction;
- Number of units;
- Number and total value of building permits;
- Residential new building start and completion dates.
Published data
Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.
Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.
Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.
Survey-specific questions
- What is the purpose of the Building Permits survey?
- Who uses this information? Why is it important?
- When will the survey results be available?
- Where can I access the SEEDS templates for Building Permits and Residential Occupancy data?
- What is the purpose of the new Residential Building Occupancy (RBO) module of the Building Permits (BPER) survey?
What is the purpose of the Building Permits survey?
The monthly Building Permits survey of Canadian municipalities collects data on the value of construction intentions for buildings in the non-residential sector and the number of dwellings authorized and value of construction projects in the residential sector. The survey also measures the number of dwelling units demolished.
The Building Permits survey is mandatory because of its vital role in monitoring the economy. By accurately reporting your municipality’s activity you are contributing to the measure of the countries worth – the gross domestic product (GDP). All information collected helps provide a clearer picture of the Canadian economy.
Who uses this information? Why is it important?
Statistics Canada's business surveys provide both the private and public sectors with vital information that is used in their decision making processes. Many businesses and organizations need accurate information to track growth and changes in this industry.
Industry associations, business analysts and investors use the data to better understand rapidly evolving business environments, such as new technologies and trade opportunities as well as investments in new product lines.
Individual businesses use the information to monitor their performance against industry averages.
Schools and universities use survey results to study the economy.
Governments need the information to make decisions about labour and fiscal policies and business assistance programs for industries.
When will the survey results be available?
Survey results are released each month in The Daily, Statistics Canada's official release bulletin. The information is available approximately between 35 and 40 days after the calendar month.
Where can I access the SEEDS templates for Building Permits and Residential Occupancy data?
SEEDS templates are provided directly to municipalities through established communication channels.
This page offers a convenient secondary access point for municipalities and their software providers to retrieve the most current versions of the templates used to submit data to the Building Permits Program.
Available templates:
- Building Permits template (for permit issuance data) - BPER_SEEDS
- Residential Building Occupancy template (for occupancy and completion data) - RBO_SEEDS
Using the standardized templates helps ensure consistent, accurate, and efficient data reporting.
What is the purpose of the new Residential Building Occupancy (RBO) module of the Building Permits (BPER) survey?
To further strengthen information on housing development in Canada, Statistics Canada is introducing the Residential Building Occupancy (RBO) module as a supplement to the BPER survey. The RBO module collects information on the construction start date and construction completion date of residential units, enhancing insight into when housing supply becomes available to Canadians.