Canadian Building Permits Jump 8.8% to C$13.6 Billion as Multifamily Approvals Rebound

The value of building permits issued across Canada climbed 8.8% in August to C$13.6 billion, driven by a recovery in approvals for multi-unit housing, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday. Residential projects accounted for essentially the entire monthly increase, providing a stronger signal of planned housing activity after a July pullback.

The total rose by about C$1.1 billion from July. Residential permit values increased 15.3% to C$8.47 billion, while non-residential authorizations slipped 0.6% to C$5.10 billion. The figures measure proposed construction covered by municipal permits, rather than the value of work already completed or homes ready for occupancy.

Multifamily housing accounts for the residential rebound

The sharpest change came from apartments, condominiums and other buildings containing multiple dwellings. According to Statistics Canada’s August building-permits report, the value of multi-unit permits rose 23.8% from July to C$5.84 billion, an increase of roughly C$1.12 billion. Single-family permit values were virtually unchanged at C$2.63 billion.

Multi-unit buildings represented about 69% of residential permit value in August. The distinction is important because the headline rise did not reflect a broad pickup across every type of homebuilding. It was concentrated in higher-density housing projects, a category that includes apartment buildings, condominium developments and several forms of attached housing.

The number of proposed dwellings increased as well. Municipalities authorized 25,833 units nationwide, up 12.8% from July. Multi-unit authorizations grew to 21,837 from 18,890 a month earlier, while single-family units edged down to 3,996 from 4,017. Those unit counts show that the increase was not simply a change in the dollar value assigned to permitted work.

The longer view is less decisive. Over the 12 months ending in August, municipalities authorized about 299,500 dwellings, compared with 305,500 in the preceding 12-month period. A stronger August therefore improved the latest monthly picture without yet reversing the decline in the rolling annual total.

Ontario leads the gains, but local markets diverge

Ontario supplied the largest share of the increase in multi-unit permits, adding C$696 million from July. British Columbia contributed another C$189.8 million and Alberta C$115.9 million. Together, those three provinces accounted for most of the national increase in this category, though Statistics Canada recorded gains across seven provinces and two territories.

Looking at all building types, Ontario’s total permit value rose 9.4% to C$5.09 billion. The province’s residential approvals increased 29.7%, more than offsetting a 12.7% reduction in non-residential permits. Alberta posted a 21.7% rise in total authorizations to C$2.02 billion, while British Columbia gained 7.5% to C$2.10 billion. Quebec registered a smaller 3.9% increase to C$2.86 billion.

Metropolitan figures underscore how uneven the movement was within those provincial totals. Toronto recorded C$2.43 billion in permits, up 3.8% from July, while London, Ontario, rose 87.0% to C$294.4 million. Calgary increased 27.1% to C$986.9 million and Vancouver gained 14.3% to C$1.27 billion. Montréal, by contrast, fell 12.9% to C$1.25 billion.

Those city comparisons cover residential and non-residential buildings together, so they should not be read as a ranking of apartment approvals. They do, however, show that the nationwide increase was not uniform. A rise in permit values in one market can coincide with weaker plans for offices, commercial buildings or other projects elsewhere.

Commercial permits retreat as industrial approvals climb

Outside housing, the national picture was broadly flat. Non-residential permit values declined by C$29.8 million in August, a small net move that concealed substantial differences among commercial, industrial and institutional projects.

Commercial building permits fell 14.8% to C$2.19 billion, a C$380 million decline. Quebec accounted for C$317.4 million of the reduction and British Columbia for C$122.0 million, while gains in Alberta offset part of the weakness. The commercial category covers buildings used for business activities, including offices and retail-related property.

Industrial approvals moved in the opposite direction, rising 39.1% to C$1.13 billion. Alberta and Quebec recorded the largest increases in that segment, at C$169.3 million and C$134.8 million, respectively. Institutional permits, which include facilities such as schools and hospitals, gained 1.9% to C$1.79 billion. The advances in industrial and institutional activity largely canceled out the commercial decline, leaving the total for non-residential projects slightly lower.

The rebound is meaningful, but permits are an early signal

August’s increase followed a sharp reduction in permit values in July, but the latest total remained below June’s revised C$14.83 billion. The three-month pattern illustrates the volatility of approvals, particularly when large projects move into or out of a monthly count. It would be premature to read one month of gains as evidence of a sustained acceleration in building activity.

The annual comparison was stronger. Total permit value stood 15.8% above August 2025 in current dollars. After adjusting for construction-price changes using Statistics Canada’s constant-dollar series, the year-over-year increase was 12.4%. On the same inflation-adjusted basis, permit values increased 8.6% from July, close to the 8.8% nominal gain.

Permits matter because they typically precede construction, giving policymakers and businesses an early indication of the development pipeline. They are not interchangeable with housing starts or completions. Statistics Canada collects those stages separately, and the timing between authorization and occupancy can differ substantially across projects. The August reading therefore points to greater permitted activity, not an immediate addition of nearly 26,000 finished homes.

The August figures are preliminary and subject to revision as municipalities submit updated information. Statistics Canada is scheduled to release September building-permits data on November 12, offering the next monthly test of whether the multifamily recovery continues.