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April 13, 2026BUILDING PERMITS, FEBRUARY 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, February 2026 vs January 2026)
Changes in monthly building permit values are typically very volatile, with large swings from one month to the next.
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) fell 50.6% to $175.4 million, the second fastest decline among provinces after Newfoundland and Labrador. Halifax permits dropped 59.2% to $87.5 million while permits outside the city fell 37.4% to $87.9 million. National permits dropped 8.4% to $12.1 billion with declines in six provinces. Prince Edward Island and Manitoba reported the largest gains.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits dropped 47.9% to $121.9 million, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax residential permits decreased 56.9% to $65.1 million. Outside the city, residential permit values fell 31.6% to $56.8 million. National residential building permit values rose 1.7% to $8.1 billion with gains in five provinces. Residential permit values were up most in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits fell 55.7% to $53.5 million, the second fastest decline among provinces after Newfoundland and Labrador. Halifax non-residential permits decelerated by 64.7% to $22.4 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values declined 45.9% to $31.1 million. National non-residential building permit values declined 24.0% to $4.0 billion with declines in six provinces. British Columbia and Manitoba reported the largest gains.
Year-to-date (January-February 2026 vs January-February 2025)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were down 18.6% in the first two months of the year comparing with the same period in 2025. Halifax permits declined 19.2% and outside the city permit values decreased 17.9%. National permits were down 2.8%. Building permit values were down in six provinces, with New Brunswick reporting the fastest decline. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest gain.
In the first two months of 2026, Nova Scotia's residential building permits fell 8.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Halifax residential permits declined 19.6% and outside the city residential permit values increased 15.1%. National residential building permit values decreased 6.0%. Residential permit values were down in six provinces, with the fastest decline in New Brunswick. The largest gain was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits dropped 33.3% in the first two months of 2026 (compared with the same period in 2025). Halifax permits declined 18.2% while non-residential permits outside the city fell 43.5%. National non-residential building permit values rose 3.4%, despite declines in eight provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline in year-to-date non-residential permit values. Ontario and Québec reported the only gains.
Across the province, lower non-residential as well as residential permits offset gains in residential permits outside Halifax in January-February 2026, resulting in lower overall permits compared to January-February 2025.
Permit values for single dwelling units were up across the province. Halifax multiple unit permit values decline offset the slight rise in the rest of the province.
Non-residential permit values were down due to notable decline in institutional/government (across the province) as well as a slight decline in commercial permits in Halifax. Across the province, a slight rise in industrial permit values as well as an increase in commercial permits outside of Halifax partially offset the decline in institutional/government permits.
Year-to-date building permit values declined across the province. Halifax building permit values declined across all categories except single unit dwelling and industrial projects. Outside the city, institutional/government decline offset the gains in all other categories.
Trends
Overall building permit values have generally been on a rising trend for several years, though there have been periods of declining values over this period. Rising permit values are mostly driven by higher residential permits within Halifax, as well as outside the city, to a smaller degree.
Residential permits followed a stable trend in late 2023 and early 2024, and had trended upward through most of 2025 though declining in recent months.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values also reached a plateau from late 2023 through 2024. Non-residential permits have trended up through the first half of 2025 due to notable growth outside the city. In recent months, non-residential building permit values are declining.
Trends in residential permit values reflect the differences in housing markets for Halifax and the rest of the province. In Halifax, growth in permit values for multi-unit dwellings has outpaced growth in single-dwelling unit permits. Outside the city, single dwelling unit permits are more common than permits for multi-unit structures. In recent months, there has been a decline in multi-unit building permits across the province.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. In Halifax, non-residential permits have increased on higher commercial and industrial projects in recent months. Outside the city, permits had a rising trend in 2025 due to sharp growth in institutional/government permits though in recent months there has been a sharp decline in institutional/government permits.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0292-01 Building permits, by type of structure and type of work (x 1,000)
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