Here is a high-level view of building permits and construction activity in Canada.

1. Building permits, January 2020
Released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time in The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities increased 4.0% to $9.2 billion in January.
Increases were reported in six provinces, led by British Columbia (+52.1% to $2.2 billion).
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing Statistics Portal.
Chart 1
Total value of building permits
billions of dollars
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.5
10.0
10.5
11.0
Jan.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Jan.
2020
Seasonally adjusted Trend-cycle
Note(s): The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the three
previous months. For more information, see the note to readers.
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.

2. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X2
Chart 2
Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors
billions of dollars
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
Jan.
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Jan.
2020
Residential, seasonally adjusted Residential, trend-cycle
Non-residential, seasonally adjusted Non-residential, trend-cycle
Note(s): The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart for the current reference month and the three
previous months. For more information, see the note to readers.
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.

3. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X 3
Infographic 1 – Building permits, January 2020

4. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X4
Change in Vancouver's development costs drives growth in British Columbia and
nationally
The majority of January's national increase in the value of building permits was in British Columbia (+$751 million),
largely due to the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Vancouver. The value of permits increased in the CMA of
Vancouver by 81.8%, prior to increases in development fees, which came into effect on January 15. Meanwhile,
Quebec (-$366 million) and Ontario (-$161 million) reported the largest provincial declines after strong activity in
December 2019.
Chart 3
Month-to-month change in the value of residential building permits
Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
-200 0 200 400 600 800
millions of dollars
Single-family dwellings Multi-family dwellings
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.
Value of residential permits up for multi- and single-family dwellings
The residential sector reported strong gains in January, increasing 12.7% from December 2019 to $5.8 billion.
Permits for multi-family dwellings were up 17.1% to $3.4 billion in January, largely due to multiple projects in the
CMA of Vancouver.
The total value of permits for single-family dwellings increased 7.0% to $2.4 billion, mainly due to housing
developments in Ontario (+$105 million) and Quebec (+$48 million). The CMA of Brantford reported the largest
increase in the value of permits for single-family dwellings (+340.9% to $41 million), a record high for the CMA.

5. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X 5
Chart 4
Month-to-month change in the value of non-residential building permits
Canada
Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
-600 -400 -200 0 200 400
millions of dollars
Industrial Commercial
Institutional
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.
Non-residential sector down due to institutional permits
The value of non-residential permits was down 7.8% to $3.5 billion in January. This decrease was largely due to a
decline in the total value of institutional permits (-30.5% to $732 million) following strong gains in December 2019.
Despite increases in seven provinces, the value of commercial permits decreased 0.8% to $2.1 billion, with Quebec
reporting the largest decline (-$249 million).
The value of industrial permits offset some of the non-residential decline, rising 6.8% to $682 million, led by Ontario
(+$90 million).

6. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X6
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate month-to-month comparisons by removing the
effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
The Building Permits Survey covers over 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the Canadian population. The communities
representing the other 5% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total for the entire
population.
Building permit data are used as a leading indicator of activity in the construction industry.
The value of planned construction activities presented in this release excludes engineering projects (such as waterworks, sewers or
culverts) and land.
For the purposes of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario and Quebec) is divided into two areas: the
Ottawa part and the Gatineau part.
Unless otherwise specified, the highlights refer to seasonally adjusted current dollars and are ranked in terms of dollar change rather than
percentage change.
Building components
Single-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing only one dwelling unit (for example, single-detached house, bungalow, linked
home [linked at the foundation]).
Multi-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing multiple dwelling units (for example, apartment, apartment condominium, row
house, semi-detached).
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.
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, as well as buildings used for religious services.
Revision
Unadjusted data for the current reference month are subject to revision based on late responses. Data for the previous month have been
revised. Seasonally adjusted data for the previous two months have also been revised.
Trend-cycle estimates have been added to the charts as a complement to the seasonally adjusted series. Both seasonally adjusted data
and trend-cycle estimates are subject to revision as additional observations become available. These revisions could be large and could
even lead to a reversal of movement, especially at the end of the series. The higher variability associated with trend-cycle estimates is
indicated with a dotted line on the chart.
For information on trend-cycle data, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
Next release
Data on building permits for February will be released on April 8.

7. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X 7
Table 1
Dwelling units, value of residential and non-residential building permits, Canada – Seasonally
adjusted
January
2019
November
2019r
December
2019r
January
2020p
December
2019 to
January 2020
January 2019
to January
2020
millions of dollars % change
Total 8,318.1 8,087.3 8,887.7 9,245.7 4.0 11.2
Residential 5,329.3 4,749.4 5,128.2 5,780.1 12.7 8.5
Single1 2,068.2 2,246.2 2,214.4 2,369.5 7.0 14.6
Multiple 3,261.2 2,503.2 2,913.8 3,410.6 17.1 4.6
Non-residential 2,988.8 3,337.9 3,759.5 3,465.6 -7.8 16.0
Industrial 593.1 738.7 638.5 682.0 6.8 15.0
Commercial 1,793.6 1,695.1 2,066.9 2,051.4 -0.8 14.4
Institutional 602.1 904.0 1,054.1 732.2 -30.5 21.6
number of units % change
Total dwellings 21,025 18,410 19,037 22,143 16.3 5.3
Single1 4,455 4,958 4,825 5,437 12.7 22.0
Multiple 16,570 13,451 14,211 16,707 17.6 0.8
r revised
p preliminary
1. Included in this category are the following types of dwellings: single-detached, mobile home and cottage.
Note(s): Data may not add up to totals as a result of rounding.
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.

8. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X8
Table 2
Value of building permits, by province and territory – Seasonally adjusted
January
2019
November
2019r
December
2019r
January
2020p
December
2019 to
January 2020
January 2019
to January
2020
millions of dollars % change
Canada 8,318.1 8,087.3 8,887.7 9,245.7 4.0 11.2
Residential 5,329.3 4,749.4 5,128.2 5,780.1 12.7 8.5
Non-residential 2,988.8 3,337.9 3,759.5 3,465.6 -7.8 16.0
Newfoundland and Labrador 39.8 56.9 48.8 76.9 57.6 93.0
Residential 18.2 19.9 17.8 17.0 -4.7 -6.5
Non-residential 21.7 37.0 31.0 59.9 93.4 1,137.9
Prince Edward Island 19.7 33.2 24.4 22.3 -8.5 13.2
Residential 17.8 26.6 20.3 17.9 -11.9 0.1
Non-residential 1.9 6.5 4.1 4.5 8.4 136.1
Nova Scotia 174.4 135.5 114.6 132.7 15.9 -23.9
Residential 145.5 90.3 81.9 92.8 13.3 -36.2
Non-residential 28.8 45.2 32.6 39.9 22.3 38.4
New Brunswick 98.4 73.9 90.8 63.3 -30.3 -35.7
Residential 38.7 31.3 39.9 38.2 -4.3 -1.3
Non-residential 59.7 42.6 50.9 25.1 -50.7 -58.0
Quebec 1,629.7 1,905.4 2,233.0 1,866.9 -16.4 14.6
Residential 930.2 916.3 1,150.2 1,138.3 -1.0 22.4
Non-residential 699.5 989.1 1,082.8 728.6 -32.7 4.2
Ontario 3,387.3 3,113.1 3,595.0 3,433.5 -4.5 1.4
Residential 2,211.0 1,951.4 1,931.2 2,024.3 4.8 -8.4
Non-residential 1,176.3 1,161.6 1,663.8 1,409.2 -15.3 19.8
Manitoba 265.5 286.2 219.2 270.9 23.6 2.1
Residential 144.0 145.8 92.6 108.9 17.6 -24.4
Non-residential 121.4 140.3 126.5 162.0 28.1 33.4
Saskatchewan 167.5 122.1 104.3 133.7 28.2 -20.2
Residential 90.6 47.0 54.7 62.7 14.7 -30.8
Non-residential 76.9 75.1 49.6 71.0 43.2 -7.7
Alberta 942.7 1,005.7 1,010.8 1,035.3 2.4 9.8
Residential 562.6 605.1 616.5 607.4 -1.5 8.0
Non-residential 380.0 400.6 394.3 427.8 8.5 12.6
British Columbia 1,566.7 1,329.8 1,440.1 2,190.7 52.1 39.8
Residential 1,147.9 901.1 1,117.1 1,668.5 49.4 45.4
Non-residential 418.8 428.6 323.0 522.2 61.7 24.7
Yukon 4.2 3.9 3.2 17.9 453.9 324.4
Residential 3.2 3.3 2.8 2.7 -4.6 -15.8
Non-residential 1.1 0.6 0.4 15.3 ... ...
Northwest Territories 1.1 5.6 3.3 1.2 -64.0 12.3
Residential 0.9 3.5 2.9 1.1 -61.9 28.8
Non-residential 0.2 2.1 0.4 0.1 -81.4 -63.8
Nunavut F 16.0 0.2 F F F
Residential F 7.7 0.2 F F F
Non-residential F 8.3 0.0 0.0 ... F
r revised
p preliminary
... not applicable
F too unreliable to be published
Note(s): Data may not add up to totals as a result of rounding.
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.

9. The Daily, Monday, March 9, 2020
Component of Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-001-X 9
Table 3
Value of building permits, by census metropolitan area – Seasonally adjusted1
January
2019
November
2019r
December
2019r
January
2020p
December
2019 to
January 2020
January 2019
to January
2020
millions of dollars % change
Total, census metropolitan areas 6,384.6 5,948.2 7,018.9 6,979.6 -0.6 9.3
St. John's 16.9 45.8 39.5 16.2 -59.0 -4.4
Halifax 123.2 74.8 69.6 87.9 26.3 -28.7
Moncton 23.4 28.8 27.7 21.4 -22.7 -8.6
Saint John 14.2 13.3 12.1 12.4 2.6 -12.4
Saguenay 16.8 20.0 106.6 22.5 -78.9 34.0
Québec 170.0 246.0 148.2 195.9 32.2 15.3
Sherbrooke 33.1 51.7 61.9 126.2 103.8 281.1
Trois-Rivières 34.3 18.8 25.5 22.9 -10.3 -33.2
Montréal 858.8 973.2 1,320.7 934.6 -29.2 8.8
Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario and Quebec 362.2 390.7 345.6 384.8 11.3 6.2
Gatineau part 90.7 112.4 59.1 46.2 -21.7 -49.0
Ottawa part 271.4 278.4 286.5 338.5 18.2 24.7
Kingston 17.6 14.9 10.9 26.4 141.4 50.2
Belleville 11.0 16.7 8.0 11.8 47.0 7.3
Peterborough 18.8 2.8 35.6 41.7 1,062.7 121.1
Oshawa 43.7 57.0 34.8 94.0 170.0 115.1
Toronto 1,763.9 1,283.1 1,929.6 1,524.3 -21.0 -13.6
Hamilton 165.2 105.6 191.0 118.4 -38.0 -28.3
St. Catharines–Niagara 61.5 94.5 114.7 69.5 -39.4 13.2
Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo 170.5 218.6 98.8 150.1 51.8 -12.0
Brantford 19.1 30.9 14.5 51.3 254.3 168.7
Guelph 66.9 25.0 65.2 22.3 -65.8 -66.7
London 74.6 140.7 126.0 107.2 -14.9 43.7
Windsor 34.3 91.8 57.1 63.4 11.1 84.6
Barrie 19.3 25.5 18.9 69.4 266.5 260.6
Greater Sudbury 28.2 20.4 17.6 24.2 37.7 -14.1
Thunder Bay 5.3 8.1 4.3 9.7 123.0 81.6
Winnipeg 192.4 218.3 160.7 174.9 8.9 -9.1
Regina 32.9 45.8 30.7 44.8 46.1 36.3
Saskatoon 73.3 51.5 45.9 61.3 33.7 -16.3
Lethbridge 21.4 17.4 26.0 23.8 -8.4 11.1
Calgary 413.3 455.2 477.1 450.7 -5.5 9.0
Edmonton 278.1 274.5 345.8 332.4 -3.9 19.5
Kelowna 80.0 84.2 88.3 82.5 -6.6 3.1
Abbotsford–Mission 36.7 70.9 34.6 25.6 -26.0 -30.2
Vancouver 1,000.0 641.9 811.2 1,475.2 81.8 47.5
Victoria 103.5 89.8 114.2 99.8 -12.7 -3.7
r revised
p preliminary
1. Go online to view the census subdivisions that make up the census metropolitan areas.
Note(s): Data may not add up to totals as a result of rounding.
Source(s): Table 34-10-0066-01.
Available tables: table 34-10-0066-01.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2802.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us
(toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media
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