Canada Building Permits Rise 4.5% in September But Drop for 3Q

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian building permits recovered in September, softening the continued weakness seen in construction plans in the quarter.

The total value of building permits increased 4.5% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 11.72 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $8.36 billion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The advance was stronger than the 0.9% rise expected for the month by economists, according to TD Securities. It follows a 4.0% drop in the value of permits the month before to the lowest level since July last year.

Still, compared with a year earlier, the value of permits issued in September was down 11.2% with declines in residential and non-residential plans.

For the third quarter, the value of permits was down 5.4% to roughly C$34.6 billion, a second straight quarterly fall. Ontario's non-residential sector led the weakness, after tempering the decline the quarter before.

After a strong first quarter, the value of residential sector permits continued to decline with a decline of 1.0% to about C$21.4 billion in the latest quarter, the lowest on record dating back to 2018.

Building permits provide an early indication of construction activity in Canada and are based on a survey of 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the country's population. The issuance of a permit doesn't guarantee that construction is imminent.

After a sharp drop in housing starts across Canada in August, starts jumped 14% month-over-month in September thanks to construction in Toronto and Montreal and despite softness in the broader housing market. The six-month trend for starts also advanced, with a rise of 4.1%, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Statistics Canada's data showed residential construction intentions rose 4.8% in September to C$7.27 billion, with increases in the value of multi-family and single-family permits.

Permits for nonresidential buildings were up 4.0% from the month before to $4.45 billion, the agency said. Institutional permits were down 10.1%, but permits from industrial buildings jumped 14.1% and commercial permits rose 9.6%.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2025 09:11 ET (14:11 GMT)