In March, the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased by $549.4 million (-4.1%) to $12.9 billion. The decrease was led by the non-residential sector (-$716.3 million), and it was tempered by the residential sector (+$166.9 million).
On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits issued in March decreased 5.1% from the previous month and was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Chart 1: Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted
Description - Chart 1
Data table: Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted
Source: Table 34-10-0285-01.
Figure 1: Month-to-month change in total value of building permits (seasonally adjusted, current dollars)
Description - Figure 1
The title of the figure is "Month-to-month change in total value of building permits (seasonally adjusted, current dollars)"
The figure includes multiple components, such as a map, tables, pictographs and images.
The figure and the map data are as follows:
Figure 1: Month-to-month change in total value of building permits (seasonally adjusted, current dollars).
This is a map of Canada by province and territory that shows the month-to-month percentage changes of the total building permits value. Green arrows represent an increase, while red arrows represent a decrease.
Building permit values in Canada were down 4.1% in March compared with February. Newfoundland and Labrador was up 89.4%, Prince Edward Island was up 57.3%, Nova Scotia was up 0.7%, New Brunswick was down 7.3%, Quebec was down 1.3%, Ontario was down 6.0%, Manitoba was down 11.6%, Saskatchewan was down 45.0%, Alberta was down 10.7%, British Columbia was up 7.9%, Yukon was up 7.2%, the Northwest Territories was down 50.1% and Nunavut was down 79.9%.
Figure 2: Building permits for residential and non-residential construction in Canada (seasonally adjusted, current dollars)
Description - Figure 2
Figure 2: Building permits for residential and non-residential construction in Canada (seasonally adjusted, current dollars).
Residential: The total value was up 2.0% month over month.
Non-residential: The total value was down 14.5% month over month.
Single-family dwellings: the total value was $2,771 million, representing a month-over-month decrease of 5.3% or $155.6 million.
Multi-family dwellings: the total value was $5,884 million, representing a month-over-month increase of 5.8% or $322.5 million.
Industrial: the total value was $783 million, representing a month-over-month decrease of 0.5% or $3.7 million.
Commercial: the total value was $2,023 million, representing a month-over-month decrease of 19.0% or $474.1 million.
Institutional: the total value was $1,420 million, representing a month-over-month decrease of 14.4% or $238.5 million.
Source: Table 34-10-0285-01, Building permits, by type of building and type of work.
Commercial construction intentions drive the fall in the non-residential sector
The value of non-residential building permits decreased by $716.3 million to $4.2 billion in March, marking a 14.5% decline from the previous month. Commercial construction intentions led the decline, dropping $474.1 million (-19.0%) to $2.0 billion in March. Meanwhile, the institutional component (-$238.5 million; -14.4%) also saw a decrease. The industrial component (-$3.7 million; -0.5%) experienced a minor decline, continuing its downward trend seen since October 2024.
The reduction in commercial construction intentions in March 2025 was most pronounced in Ontario (-$268.6 million), and it was supported by declines in British Columbia (-$187.1 million), three additional provinces and two territories. Concurrently, Saskatchewan (-$293.7 million) drove the institutional component decrease; this component rose in February, driven by a building permit being issued for a hospital. Losses in the institutional component in March were partially offset by a gain in Ontario (+$121.1 million), supported by construction intentions for long-term care facilities and day care centres in the province. The loss in the industrial component was driven by Alberta (-$152.4 million); there were additional decreases in six provinces and one territory. Ontario's increase of $177.2 million helped mitigate the overall decline.
Chart 2: Value of building permits for the single-family and multi-family components
Description - Chart 2
Data table: Value of building permits for the single-family and multi-family components
Note: The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the previous three months. For more information, see the Note to readers.
Source: Table 34-10-0285-01.
Chart 3: Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors
Description - Chart 3
Data table: Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors
Note: The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the previous three months. For more information, see the Note to readers.
Source: Table 34-10-0285-01.
Chart 4: Value of building permits for the industrial, commercial and institutional components
Description - Chart 4
Data table: Value of building permits for the industrial, commercial and institutional components
Note: The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the previous three months. For more information, see the Note to readers.
Source: Table 34-10-0285-01.
Single-family permits slow residential sector growth
Residential construction intentions in Canada increased $166.9 million (+2.0%) in March to reach $8.7 billion. A gain in the multi-family component (+$322.5 million to $5.9 billion) was partially offset by a decline in the single-family component (-$155.6 million to $2.8 billion).
The rise in the multi-family component in March was particularly strong in British Columbia (+$397.8 million), driven by the Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) (+$652.3 million).
Meanwhile, the single-family component decrease was primarily observed in Ontario (-$185.7 million) and was supported by Quebec (-$26.0 million).
Overall, 22,800 multi-family dwellings and 4,400 single-family dwellings were authorized for construction in March, representing a 4.6% increase from the previous month.
Quarterly review: British Columbia leads gains in the first quarter
The total value of building permits in the first quarter was $39.1 billion, up 2.9% from the previous quarter ($38.0 billion), a fifth consecutive quarterly increase. British Columbia (+$1.7 billion) led the growth in construction intentions.
The residential sector grew $1.5 billion (+5.9%) to $25.9 billion in the first quarter, fuelled by a gain in the multi-family component (+$1.5 billion; +9.6%) to reach a record high of $17.3 billion. The gain in multi-family construction intentions was concentrated in British Columbia (+$1.2 billion), driven by broad-based growth in the Vancouver CMA.
Meanwhile, single-family construction intentions edged down $55.0 million (-0.6%) to $8.6 billion, with Alberta (-$75.2 million) and Ontario (-$64.1 million) leading the decline. Nova Scotia (+$34.7 million) tempered these losses, along with five other provinces and one territory.
Non-residential construction intentions declined by $354.1 million (-2.6%) to $13.2 billion in the first quarter, a second consecutive quarterly decline. Decreases in the industrial (-$884.5 million) and institutional (-$60.7 million) components were tempered by a gain in the commercial component (+$591.1 million).
To explore data using an interactive user interface, visit the Building permits: Interactive Dashboard.
For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.
Table 2: Value of building permits, by province and territory – Seasonally adjusted
Table 3: Value of building permits, by census metropolitan area – Seasonally adjusted
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data with current dollar values, which facilitate month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
For information on trend-cycle data, see the page Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
Data may not add up to totals as a result of rounding.
Table 34-10-0285 will be archived and replaced by table 34-10-0292 with the April 2025 reference period, which will be released on June 11, 2025. Data from January 2018 onwards, previously available in table 34-10-0285, remain accessible in the new table, except for the constant dollar series, which will be rebased to 2023=100.
Building components
- Single-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing only one dwelling unit (e.g., single-detached house, bungalow, linked home [linked at the foundation]).
- Multi-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartment, apartment condominium, row house, semi-detached house).
- Industrial buildings: Buildings used in the processing or production of goods or related to transportation and communication.
- Commercial buildings: Buildings used in the trade or distribution of goods and services, including office buildings.
- Institutional and government buildings: Buildings used to house public and semi-public services, such as those related to health and welfare, education or public administration, and buildings used for religious services.
Revision
Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, methodological changes and classification updates. Unadjusted data have been revised for the previous month and from January 2024 to December 2024. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised back to January 2021.
Reference
Data table: 34-10-0285-01.
- Note: some data tables may best be viewed on desktop.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2802.
Previous release: Building permits, February 2025.
Next release: June 11, 2025.
Contact information
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