Value of Canadian Building Permits Falls in February

On Monday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the total value of building permits issued in Canada fell 8.4% in February to CA$12.1 billion, a decrease of $1.1 billion from January.

On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value fell 8.6% and was down 11.5% year-over-year.

Residential Construction

Residential construction intentions rose $135.0 million to $8.1 billion in February. The multi-unit component increased $180.3 million to $5.4 billion, while single-family construction declined $44.7 million to $2.7 billion.

Across Canada, 21,000 multifamily and 3,900 single-family dwellings were authorized in February, a 0.8% decrease from the previous month. Over the 12-month period from March 2025 to February, total multifamily authorizations reached 255,500 units—up from 244,600 in the prior period.

Nonresidential Construction

The value of nonresidential building permits fell 24.0% ($1.3 billion) to $4.0 billion in February, marking the steepest decline since April 2023.

Institutional investment declined $987.2 million to $929.1 million, while commercial construction fell $160.0 million to $2.0 billion and industrial construction decreased $104.7 million to $985.1 million.