Building Permits, July 2025
September 15, 2025
In July, the total value of building permits issued in Canada edged down $10.8 million (-0.1%) to $11.9 billion. Overall, the decrease in construction intentions was led by the non-residential sector (-$279.2 million), but this was largely offset by a rise in the residential sector (+$268.3 million).
On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of building permits issued in July declined 0.3% from the previous month and was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Chart 1
Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted
Infographic 1
Building permits, July 2025
Decrease in industrial and institutional construction intentions leads to non-residential sector decline
The value of non-residential building permits decreased $279.2 million to $4.6 billion in July. The industrial (-$252.9 million) and institutional (-$196.0 million) components declined, while the commercial component (+$169.7 million) tempered the decrease.
In July, the decrease in the industrial component was primarily attributable to Ontario (-$190.9 million) and Quebec (-$114.8 million).
Alberta (-$192.1 million) led the decline in the institutional component, after hospital construction intentions in the province bolstered the national level in June. The decline in July was tempered by gains in Nova Scotia (+$65.9 million) and Quebec (+$57.8 million).
Gains in the commercial component in July were led by Ontario (+$82.5 million), followed by Quebec (+$59.3 million) and Nunavut (+$30.8 million). Meanwhile, the commercial component was down in five provinces, slightly moderating the gains.
Chart 2
Value of building permits for the single-family and multi-family components
Chart 3
Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors
Chart 4
Value of building permits for the industrial, commercial and institutional components
Ontario drives residential sector increase
Despite the downward trend since January 2025, residential construction intentions rose $268.3 million to $7.3 billion in July. The national increase in the residential sector in July was driven by Ontario (+$497.5 million).
The single-family component increased $143.5 million to $2.6 billion in July, led by Ontario (+$114.6 million) and followed by Alberta (+$35.2 million). Overall, seven provinces and three territories contributed to the increase, while Quebec (-$17.2 million), Manitoba (-$12.5 million) and British Columbia (-$6.2 million) tempered the growth.
The multi-unit component grew $124.8 million to $4.7 billion and was driven by Ontario (+$382.8 million), specifically the Toronto census metropolitan area (+$329.5 million), followed by Alberta (+$84.7 million). The growth was partially offset by Quebec (-$160.0 million), Nova Scotia (-$57.2 million) and New Brunswick (-$55.0 million).
Nationwide, a total of 20,000 multi-unit dwellings and 4,100 single-family dwellings were authorized in July, up 1.9% from the previous month.
