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Building permits, January 2023

Released: 2023-03-03

Building permits — Canada

$9.8 billion

January 2023

-4.0% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — N.L.

$45.7E million

January 2023

-26.8% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — P.E.I.

$30.1 million

January 2023

-45.4% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — N.S.

$190.0 million

January 2023

-7.8% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — N.B.

$101.3 million

January 2023

-19.4% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — Que.

$1,711.3 million

January 2023

-6.7% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — Ont.

$4,206.4 million

January 2023

-0.9% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — Man.

$378.5 million

January 2023

6.7% increase

(monthly change)

Building permits — Sask.

$156.6 million

January 2023

-12.8% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — Alta.

$1,189.6 million

January 2023

2.1% increase

(monthly change)

Building permits — B.C.

$1,757.8 million

January 2023

-9.6% decrease

(monthly change)

Building permits — Y.T.

$7.8 million

January 2023

6.6% increase

(monthly change)

Building permits — N.W.T.

$3.7 million

January 2023

166.3% increase

(monthly change)

Building permits — Nvt.

$0.0 million

January 2023

-100.0% decrease

(monthly change)

The monthly total value of building permits in Canada decreased 4.0% in January to $9.8 billion.

There were eight provinces that reported decreases in January, with the multi-residential sector in British Columbia significantly contributing to the national fall.

The residential sector declined 6.6% to $6.1 billion in January, while the non-residential sector was relatively stable, increasing a modest 0.7% to $3.7 billion.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits went down 3.2% to $5.8 billion in January.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted
Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted

Infographic 1  Thumbnail for Infographic 1: Building permits, January 2023
Building permits, January 2023

Residential sector falls for second consecutive month

Residential permits decreased 6.6% to $6.1 billion in January with seven provinces posting decreases.

The downward trend of multi-family homes continued as construction intentions declined 8.3% in January. Most of the decline stemmed from British Columbia (-27.9% or -$301.2 million) following a month of significant urban development intentions. Conversely, Manitoba posted a notable increase (+106.0% or +$63.0 million) in January.

Total permit values for single-family homes decreased 4.4% in January, with Quebec (-13.5% or -$74.6 million) contributing the most to the decline. Alberta (+0.8%) and British Columbia (+0.6%) were the only provinces to post increases for this component.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Value of building permits for the single-family and multi-family components
Value of building permits for the single-family and multi-family components

Chart 3  Chart 3: Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors
Value of building permits for the residential and non-residential sectors

Non-residential sector relatively stable month-to-month

The total value of non-residential sector permits was up slightly by 0.7% to $3.7 billion in January, with gains in the commercial component offsetting losses in both the industrial and institutional components.

Commercial permit values increased 5.4% in January, with Ontario leading the charge (+22.8%). This was the second consecutive monthly increase as the component reached the third-highest recorded value since the start of the series (2011).

The value of building permits in the industrial component decreased 3.9% in January, with six provinces posting declines. After reaching its peak at over a billion dollars in November 2022, the component returned to more normal levels in January 2023.

Construction intentions in the institutional sector decreased 5.9% in January, with Quebec (-21.1%) having the biggest decline. Conversely, British Columbia jumped 43.8% due to an $87 million permit for an educational building in Kelowna.

To explore data using an interactive user interface, visit the Building permits: Interactive Dashboard.

To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socioeconomic landscape, please consult the Canadian Economic Dashboard and COVID-19.

For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.

Statistics Canada has a Housing Market Indicators dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and by census metropolitan area. The indicators are updated automatically with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.




  Note to readers

Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data with current dollar values, which facilitate month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Building components

  • Single-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing only one dwelling unit (e.g., single-detached house, bungalow, linked home [linked at the foundation]).
  • Multi-family dwellings: Residential buildings containing multiple dwelling units (e.g., apartment, apartment condominium, row house, semi-detached house).
  • 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, including office buildings.
  • 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, and buildings used for religious services.

Revision

Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, methodological changes and classification updates. Unadjusted data has been revised for the previous month. Seasonally adjusted data has been revised for the previous three months.

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 3.

Contact information

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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).

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