Building permit totals dropped by nearly $830 million, or 6.6%, in April to reach $11.7 billion.

A significant drop in permit values in British Columbia (-$1.2 billion) led the decrease. A gain of just under $300 million in activity in Ontario somewhat mitigated the loss.

Residential construction intentions declined 11.6% (-$967.7 million) to $7.4 billion for the month. The multi-family segment (-$882.5 million) was the primary contributor to this decline, while the single-family component (-$85.2 million) contributed to a lesser extent.

At -$837.4 million, British Columbia led the drop in multi-unit permit values. The Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) in particular (-$1.0 billion) drove the province's decrease, after bolstering the national multi-family component's increase during the first quarter of 2025.

The decrease in single-family construction intentions in April was most pronounced in Alberta (-$37.4 million) and was partially offset by Quebec (+$26.6 million).

Across Canada, 21,400 multi-family dwellings and 4,200 single-family dwellings were authorized for construction in April, marking a 6.5% decrease in the total number of units authorized compared with the previous month.

Ontario leads non-residential sector gains

Meanwhile, the total value of non-residential building permits issued in April rose by $138.2 million (+3.3%) to $4.3 billion.

Growth in industrial (+$186.8 million) and commercial (+$68.6 million) construction intentions was moderated by a decline in the institutional component (-$117.2 million).

Overall, the increase in non-residential construction intentions was driven by Ontario (+$352.7 million); British Columbia (-$341.0 million) tempered the gain.

Ontario's non-residential construction intentions rose sharply by 20.8% to $2.0 billion in April, led by the commercial component (+$259.0 million) and supported by construction intentions for office buildings in the Toronto CMA. Ontario's industrial construction intentions increased by $136.7 million, while the value of institutional permits declined by $42.9 million.

Meanwhile, the decline in British Columbia's non-residential construction intentions were widespread, with losses being mainly in the commercial (-$164.5 million) and institutional (-$158.2 million) components.