Canadian building permit values fell 4.1% to $12.9 billion in September 2026, Statistics Canada reported on November 12, 2026. The monthly figures are seasonally adjusted, and values are in current dollars unless otherwise noted.
Housing approvals fell faster than permit values
Municipalities authorized 22,934 dwellings in September, down 8.7% from August. Multi-unit authorizations fell 10.3% to 18,979, while single-family authorizations edged down 0.3% to 3,956.
Residential permit values fell 5.8% to $7.8 billion from August. Compared with September 2025, however, residential permit values were 4.6% higher, even though the number of dwellings authorized was 7.6% lower.
British Columbia and Alberta lead the multi-unit decline
Multi-family permit values decreased $529.3 million to $5.1 billion. Statistics Canada said British Columbia and Alberta led that decline, with decreases of $292.1 million and $186.8 million, respectively.
Single-family permit values rose $53.6 million to $2.7 billion, led by Ontario. Ontario’s overall permit value increased 6.6% to $5.35 billion, and Nova Scotia was the only other province to record an increase, rising 23.8% to $300.2 million.
The quarterly decline had a different driver
Non-residential permit values fell 1.5% to $5.1 billion in September. Institutional permit values declined, while industrial values rose 7.7% and commercial values edged higher by 0.2%.
Over the third quarter, total permit values fell 3.6% to $38.8 billion. In inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars, non-residential construction intentions dropped $1.7 billion to $13.8 billion, while residential intentions were virtually unchanged at $21.0 billion.
Institutional projects accounted for most of the quarterly non-residential decrease, falling $1.5 billion in inflation-adjusted terms. That followed a record second quarter for institutional construction intentions, led by a new hospital project in Ontario.
Permits measure intentions, not completed buildings
Statistics Canada describes building permits as a leading construction indicator because permit issuance is an early step in the construction process. The September figures report the value of authorized construction and the number of dwellings approved, not completed homes, and don’t establish when approved projects will begin.
September’s estimates are preliminary and subject to revision. Statistics Canada is scheduled to release October building permit data on December 11, 2026.
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