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March 12, 2026BUILDING PERMITS, JANUARY 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, January 2026 vs December 2025)
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) rose 10.9% to $361.5 million. Halifax permits rose 31.6% to $222.5 million while permits outside the city fell 11.5% to $139.0 million. National permits grew 4.8% to $13.3 billion with gains in seven provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest gain while Manitoba reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits grew 29.7% to $242.9 million. Halifax residential permits increased 42.1% to $157.9 million. Outside the city, residential permit values grew 11.6% to $85.0 million. National residential building permit values rose 1.8% to $8.0 billion with gains in six provinces. Residential permit values were up most in Prince Edward Island while Manitoba reported the fastest percentage decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits fell 14.6% to $118.6 million. Halifax non-residential permits rose 11.5% to $64.7 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decelerated by 33.2% to $54.0 million. National non-residential building permit values rose 9.4% to $5.4 billion with gains in six provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest gain while Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Year-over-year (January 2026 vs January 2025)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were up 10.0% in January 2026 compared to January 2025. Halifax permits rose 24.9% and outside the city permit values decreased 7.7%. National permits were up 4.2%. Building permit values were up in six provinces, with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting the fastest increase. New Brunswick reported the fastest decline.
In January 2026, Nova Scotia's residential building permits rose 24.5% compared to January 2025. Halifax residential permits rose 22.6% and outside the city residential permit values increased 28.1%. National residential building permit values declined 9.4%. Residential permit values were up in five provinces, with the fastest increase in Newfoundland and Labrador. New Brunswick reported the fastest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits declined 11.3% in January 2026 (compared to January 2025). Halifax permits rose 30.9% while non-residential permits outside the city declined 35.9%. National non-residential building permit values rose 34.1% on gains in five provinces. Ontario reported the largest gain while New Brunswick reported the steepest decline in non-residential permit values.
Across the province, higher residential permits offset declines in non-residential permits outside Halifax in January 2026, resulting in higher overall permits compared to January 2025.
Permit values for single as well as multiple dwelling units were up across the province.
Non-residential permit values were down due to notable decline in institutional/government (across the province). Across the province, commercial and industrial permit values rise partially offset the decline in institutional/government permits.
In January 2026, growth in building permit values was stronger for Halifax. Halifax building permit values rose across all categories except institutional/government. 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 January 2026 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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