Canada’s residential building permits rose by $135.6 million, or 1.7%, to $8.1 billion in February, led by higher multi-unit construction intentions, while total building permits fell by $1.1 billion, or 8.4%, to $12.1 billion because of a decline in non-residential approvals, based on figures released by Statistics Canada.
Multi-unit permits increased by $180.3 million to $5.4 billion in February, while single-family permits fell by $44.7 million to $2.7 billion. Ontario led the gain in the multi-unit component with an increase of $320.6 million, and British Columbia added $217.6 million. Declines in Quebec, down $188.1 million, Nova Scotia, down $112.3 million, and Alberta, down $95.2 million, limited the increase.
The single-family component declined in February, led by British Columbia, down $52.8 million, and Ontario, down $28.4 million. Alberta partly offset those losses with an increase of $28.9 million.
Canada authorized 20,989 multi-unit dwellings and 3,900 single-family dwellings in February, for a total of 24,889 units, down 0.8% from January. Over the 12 months from March 2025 to February 2026, the number of multi-family dwellings authorized reached 255,500, up from 244,600 in the previous 12-month period.
Non-residential building permits fell 24.0% to $4.0 billion in February. The institutional component posted the largest decline, down $987.2 million to $929.1 million. Commercial permits fell by $160.0 million to $2.0 billion, and industrial permits declined by $104.7 million to $985.1 million.
Ontario accounted for most of the drop in institutional permits, down $827.1 million. Alberta fell by $146.5 million and Quebec by $88.8 million. In the commercial component, Ontario fell by $106.6 million, while Nova Scotia dropped by $51.9 million and Alberta by $40.0 million.
Quebec led the decline in industrial permits with a drop of $186.4 million. British Columbia partly offset that decrease with an increase of $283.3 million. In the Vancouver census metropolitan area, the approval of a new wastewater treatment plant added $183.9 million.
