Non-residential permits fell 14.5% to $4.2 billion, with commercial construction intentions down 19% to $2 billion. Institutional and industrial permits also declined, the latter marking its sixth monthly drop in a row.
Residential permits, meanwhile, rose 2% to $8.7 billion. A $322-million jump in multi-family construction—primarily in Vancouver—offset a $156-million decline in single-family permits, which were down in Ontario and Quebec.
Municipalities approved 22,800 multi-family units and 4,400 single-family homes, a 4.6% increase in overall dwelling counts compared to February.
Despite the March pullback, total permits issued over the past year climbed to 308,500 units—well above pre-pandemic levels. But as BMO’s Benjamin Reitzes points out, the surge in activity hasn’t translated into more affordable supply.
“This figure, coupled with the glut of condos in Toronto and Vancouver, is a gaping hole in the housing shortage narrative,” Reitzes wrote. “We’d instead posit that there’s a lack of affordable single-family detached housing, with a more muted shortfall in overall supply.”
On a constant dollar basis, permit values fell 5.1% month-over-month, though they remain up 11.1% compared to a year earlier.
Looking at the full first quarter, total building permits rose 2.9% to $39.1 billion, led by British Columbia’s record-setting pace of multi-family activity.
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Last modified: May 14, 2025