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Canada’s building permits dropped almost seven per cent compared to March, reports Statistics Canada.
Monthly difference in building permit values in Canada in April of 2025. (Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0292-01, Building permits, by type of building and type of work)
The total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased by 6.6 per cent in April, reports Statistics Canada. The $829.6 million drop from March resulted in $11.7 billion in permits being issued. While the non-residential segments presented a mixed picture, single-family and multi-family dwelling intentions combined to post an 11.6 per cent drop for the month.
By region, British Columbia was hit with the largest combined decline, at $1.2 billion. That was mitigated by an increase of $299.3 million in Ontario.
Residential construction intentions across the country fell to $7.4 billion in April, with the multi-family segment dropping $882.5 million to land at $4.7 billion. The reduction in multi-family permit values was driven by British Columbia, where the Vancouver census metropolitan area was $1 billion behind the March figures, despite having bolstered the national multi-family component’s increase during the first quarter of 2025.
Across Canada, 21,400 multi-family dwellings and 4,200 single-family dwellings were authorized for construction in April, marking a 6.5 per cent decrease in the total number of units authorized compared with the previous month.
The total value of non-residential building permits issued in April rose by $138.2 million, or 3.3 per cent, to $4.3 billion. Growth in industrial and commercial construction intentions was moderated by a decline in the institutional component. The industrial segment rose 23.5 per cent to $980 million; commercial was up 3.3 per cent at $2.1 billion; and institutional dropped 8.9 per cent, to $1.2 billion.
Ontario’s non-residential construction intentions rose sharply, gaining 20.8 per cent in April, led by the commercial component and supported by construction intentions for office buildings in the Toronto CMA. Ontario’s industrial construction intentions increased by $136.7 million, while the value of institutional permits declined by $42.9 million.