Statistics Canada: Building Permits, October 2024

The total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased by $399.1 million (-3.1%) to $12.6 billion in October. This comes on the heels of a strong September, during which construction intentions rose by $1.3 billion to the second-highest level in the series. Despite the monthly decline in October, the total value of building permits was the fourth-highest level in the series. In October, Ontario’s construction intentions (-$696.4 million) significantly contributed to the national non-residential decline, tempering total residential growth, after fuelling both sectors’ gains in September.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits in October decreased 3.6% from the previous month and was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Declines in Ontario and Manitoba construction intentions push down the non-residential sector

The total value of non-residential building permits decreased by $576.3 million (-11.0%) to $4.7 billion in October, led by Ontario (-$300.9 million) and Manitoba (-$207.5 million). Overall, declines were seen across the institutional (-$368.2 million), commercial (-$127.5 million) and industrial (-$80.6 million) components.

Ontario’s non-residential sector decrease in October was driven by the institutional component (-$241.9 million), following the province’s record-high level reached in September. Manitoba’s decrease was driven by the industrial component (-$141.0 million) in October.

British Columbia and Alberta lead residential growth, while Ontario multi-family dwellings temper national gain

Residential construction intentions increased by $177.1 million (+2.3%) to $7.9 billion in October. British Columbia (+$275.6 million) and Alberta (+$158.9 million) led residential sector growth, which was also supported by Nova Scotia (+$73.7 million) and Manitoba (+$61.3 million).

The multi-family component edged up by $37.6 million in October. Monthly gains were observed in seven provinces and one territory, led by British Columbia (+$261.4 million) and Alberta (+$129.8 million). The gains were tempered by a decline in Ontario (-$472.8 million), following a sharp increase driven by several large multi-family dwellings construction projects in September. British Columbia’s increase in October was supported by a large multi-family dwelling construction project in Burnaby, while Alberta’s expansion was broad-based.

The value of single-family permits rose by $139.6 million in October, driven by Ontario (+$77.3 million), which was also supported by contributions from seven other provinces and territories.

Across Canada, 21,300 new multi-family dwellings and 4,900 single-family dwellings were authorized in October, representing a 6.7% monthly increase in the total number of units approved for construction through permit issuance. The 12-month cumulative total of units authorized from November 2023 to October 2024 rose by 2.7% to 274,100, compared with 266,800 units authorized from November 2022 to October 2023.

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.

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 November will be released on January 10, 2025.

Source: Statistics Canada