Statistics Canada: Building Permits October 2023

The total value of building permits in Canada increased 2.3% from September to $11.2 billion in October, led by gains in the non-residential sector.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits was up 2.2% to $6.4 billion in October.

Institutional projects lead non-residential construction intention gains

The total value of non-residential sector permits increased 5.3% to $4.1 billion in October, with gains being concentrated in Ontario (+16.0% to $2.0 billion). This was attributable to a significant increase in construction intentions in the institutional component (+29.2% to $1.4 billion). In October, the largest permit issued was for the construction of a new hospital wing in Toronto.

Construction intentions in the industrial component (+11.9% to $973.8 million) also saw gains in October, while the commercial component (-10.5% to $1.8 billion) posted its second consecutive monthly decline.

Permit values in the commercial component have been trending down since the record high of $2.9 billion in March. Year over year, the value of commercial permits issued in October ($1.8 billion) was 11.9% less than the value of those issued in October 2022 ($2.0 billion).

Total value of residential permits relatively unchanged compared with previous month

The total monthly value of residential building permits edged up 0.6% to $7.1 billion in October, following a 2.8% gain in September. In October, gains in residential permit values for Ontario (+7.4% or +$199.9 million), Alberta (+14.8% or +$125.5 million) and Quebec (+7.0% or +$89.0 million) offset declines in the remaining seven provinces. Year-over-year residential construction intentions were up 16.1% in October compared with October 2022.

Across Canada, 18,100 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,600 new single-family dwellings were authorized.

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.

Statistics Canada has a Housing Market Indicators dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and by census metropolitan area. The indicators are updated automatically with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.

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.

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. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised for the previous three months.

For information on trend-cycle data, see the page Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.

Next release

Data on building permits for November will be released on January 9, 2024.

Source: Statistics Canada