Building permits jump 8.8% to $13.6B on multi-unit surge

Canadian municipalities issued $13.6 billion worth of building permits in August, up 8.8 per cent from July, as a surge in multi-unit housing approvals more than offset a dip in commercial construction, Statistics Canada said on Oct. 14.

The $1.1-billion increase, which is seasonally adjusted, was led by residential projects, the agency said in its Daily release. In constant dollars, the value of permits rose 8.6 per cent from July and 12.4 per cent from August 2025.

Residential permits rose $1.1 billion to $8.5 billion. Multi-unit projects such as apartment buildings, condos and townhouse complexes accounted for the gain, rising $1.1 billion to $5.8 billion. Single-family permits were essentially unchanged at $2.6 billion, down $0.7 million, Statistics Canada said.

Ontario drove most of the multi-unit increase, with an additional $696.0 million. British Columbia added $189.8 million and Alberta added $115.9 million. Statistics Canada said seven provinces and two territories posted gains.

The agency said municipalities authorized 21,800 multi-unit and 4,000 single-family dwellings in August, a combined increase of 12.8 per cent from July. Over the 12 months to August, 299,500 units were authorized, down from 305,500 in the previous 12-month period, a drop of about two per cent.

The monthly jump needs some context. Statistics Canada reported in its Aug. 12 release that June permits totalled $14.9 billion. August’s $13.6 billion is still below that level. Working back from the $1.1-billion gain, July came in at roughly $12.5 billion, according to Canada News Media’s arithmetic, so August is a rebound from a soft month rather than a new high.

Permits also measure intentions to build, not construction itself. Projects can be delayed, redesigned or cancelled after approval, and the figures say nothing about when a building will open.

Non-residential permits slipped $29.8 million to $5.1 billion. Commercial permits fell $380.0 million to $2.2 billion, pulled down by Quebec (down $317.4 million) and British Columbia (down $122.0 million), while Alberta rose $95.4 million. Industrial permits climbed $317.3 million to $1.1 billion, led by Alberta (up $169.3 million) and Quebec (up $134.8 million).

Institutional permits, which cover projects such as schools and hospitals, rose $32.9 million to $1.8 billion. Quebec (up $188.5 million) and British Columbia (up $68.3 million) offset a $211.2-million decline in Ontario.

By province, the largest monthly gains in total permit value were in Manitoba (up 26.9 per cent to $0.5 billion), Alberta (up 21.7 per cent to $2.0 billion) and Nova Scotia (up 21.0 per cent to $0.2 billion). New Brunswick fell 35.6 per cent to $0.2 billion. Ontario, the largest market, rose 9.4 per cent to $5.1 billion, Quebec rose 3.9 per cent to $2.9 billion, and British Columbia rose 7.5 per cent to $2.1 billion.

For renters and first-time buyers in their 20s and 30s, multi-unit buildings are the housing type most likely to widen their options. But permit values alone do not show how many of the new units will be rentals, how many will be priced below market, or how many will be built in the cities where demand is highest. Statistics Canada publishes city-level figures in the data tables that accompany the release.

Statistics Canada is the only source for these figures, and Canada News Media found no independent coverage of the August data at the time of writing.

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Via Statistics Canada: Building permits, August 2026