Statistics Canada: Building Permits, February 2025

In February, the total value of building permits issued in Canada increased by $371.3 million (+2.9%) to $13.1 billion. Gains in construction intentions were led by British Columbia’s non-residential sector.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits issued in February grew 3.2% from the previous month and was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis.

British Columbia’s construction intentions lead the growth in the non-residential sector

The national value of non-residential building permits increased by $618.7 million (+15.3%) to $4.7 billion in February, rebounding after four consecutive months of declines. British Columbia’s non-residential sector (+$657.7 million) led the growth, supported by gains in the commercial (+$390.0 million) and institutional (+$248.8 million) components. Major projects in the Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) significantly contributed to gains for the province’s commercial and institutional components.

The growth in Canada’s non-residential sector was spread across its three components in February, with gains in the commercial (+$481.8 million), industrial (+$86.2 million) and institutional (+$50.7 million) subsectors. The industrial component ticked up in February 2025, after trending downward since September 2024. In the summer of 2024, the industrial component drove the non-residential sector to a quarterly series high in the third quarter of the year.

British Columbia’s multi-family component drives the residential sector decline

Canada’s residential construction intentions declined by $247.4 million (-2.9%) to $8.4 billion in February 2025. Overall, the multi-family component fell by $224.8 million, while the single-family component decreased by $22.6 million.

British Columbia’s multi-family component (-$185.5 million) led the decline, with decreases concentrated in the Vancouver CMA. Quebec (-$131.5 million) and New Brunswick (-$105.4 million) contributed to the residential sector decrease in February, after helping to offset losses in the national residential sector the previous month. Quebec’s residential sector decline was driven by the multi-family component (-$107.9 million) and supported by the single-family component (-$23.6 million). New Brunswick’s residential sector decrease was led by the multi-family component (-$103.3 million). The decrease in the national residential sector was mitigated by Ontario (+$110.2 million).

Across Canada, 21,000 multi-family dwellings and 4,800 single-family dwellings were authorized in February, down 7.1% from the previous month.

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.

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, remains accessible in the new table, with the exception of 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. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised for the previous three months.

Next release

Data on building permits for March will be released on May 14. With that release, data for January 2024 through December 2024 will also be revised.

Source: Statistics Canada