Building permit values issued in April dropped by just under 8%, or $1 billion, from March’s total.

Statistics Canada reports that permit values declined to $12.5 billion for the month, with the non-residential (-10.5%) and residential sectors (-5.5%) reporting contractions.

On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of building permits issued in April declined 7.7% from the previous month and was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.

British Columbia leads non-residential sector decline

The value of non-residential building permits fell $585.9 million to $5.0 billion.

The decrease was led by the institutional component (-$388.2 million to $1.4 billion), followed by the industrial component (-$323.2 million to $1.2 billion). Meanwhile, the commercial component (+$125.6 million to $2.3 billion) moderated the overall decrease.

After leading growth in the institutional component in March, British Columbia (-$607.0 million) drove the reduction in the institutional construction intentions in April. Ontario (+$210.1 million) helped moderate declines.

In April, losses in the industrial component were led by Ontario (-$227.0 million), followed by British Columbia (-$59.0 million) and Manitoba (-$35.3 million). In total, eight provinces and two territories contributed to the national decrease.

The growth in the commercial component in April was primarily attributable to Quebec (+$141.1 million), followed by Ontario (+$52.4 million) and Yukon (+$47.0 million). British Columbia (-$95.4 million) moderated the increases.

Residential construction decline driven by multi-family component

Residential construction intentions declined by $437.7 million to $7.5 billion.

The multi-family component (-$429.7 million to $4.8 billion) accounted for most of the decline in the month, while the single-family component remained virtually unchanged, at $2.7 billion.

In April, the reduction in the multi-family component stemmed largely from British Columbia (-$432.7 million). Additional decreases were recorded in Ontario (-$99.7 million) and Manitoba (-$67.9 million).

Ontario (-$27.1 million) led the decrease in the single-family component in April. Overall, six provinces and two territories contributed to the decline. Concurrently, gains in Manitoba (+$22.7 million), Quebec (+$22.1 million) and Prince Edward Island (+$15.8 million) tempered the decline.

Across Canada, 19,900 multi-family dwellings and 4,100 single-family dwellings were authorized in April, down 8.0% from the previous month. From May 2025 to April 2026, the total number of multi-family and single-family dwellings authorized was 303,700, down from 304,000 during the same period one year earlier.

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