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September 16, 2026BUILDING PERMITS, JULY 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, July 2026 vs June 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 9.6% to $199.7 million. Halifax permits fell 14.1% to $111.5 million while permits outside the city declined 3.3% to $88.2 million. National permits fell 17.3% to $12.2 billion with declines in all provinces except New Brunswick. The fastest decline was recorded in Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits fell 5.9% to $142.0 million. Halifax residential permits fell faster at 12.7% to $79.1 million. Outside the city, residential permit values grew 4.2% to $63.0 million. National residential building permit values declined 8.9% to $7.2 billion with declines in all provinces except New Brunswick. The fastest decline was recorded in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits fell 17.6% to $57.6 million and Halifax non-residential permits fell 17.3% to $32.4 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values decreased 17.9% to $25.2 million. National non-residential building permit values fell 27.1% to $5.0 billion with declines in seven provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador recorded the fastest increase and Saskatchewan recorded the fastest decrease.
Year-to-date (January-July 2026 vs January-July 2025)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were down 31.4% in the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax permits declined 26.3% and outside the city permit values decreased 37.5%. National permits were up 4.8%. Building permit values were up in seven provinces with Prince Edward Island recording the fastest gain.
In the first seven months of 2026, Nova Scotia's residential building permits fell 20.7% compared to the same period in 2025, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax residential permits decreased 22.2% and outside the city residential permit values decreased 18.0%. National residential building permit values increased 0.5%. Residential permit values were up in six provinces, with the fastest gain in Saskatchewan.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits dropped 48.1% in the first seven months of 2026 (compared with the same period in 2025), the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax permits declined 35.8% while non-residential permits outside the city fell 57.0%. National non-residential building permit values rose 11.9%, with increases in seven provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain in year-to-date non-residential permit values.
Across Nova Scotia, both residential and non-residential permits declined in January-July 2026 compared to January-July 2025.
Permit values for single dwellings as well as multiple units were down across the province.
All categories of non-residential permit values were down across the province except commercial permits pushed up permits outside of Halifax.
Year-to-date building permit values declined the most in institutional/government and industrial projects across the province. Halifax building permit values declined across all categories with the fastest decline in industrial projects. Outside the city, building permit values declined across all categories except commercial projects, with the fastest decline in institutional/government projects.
Trends
Overall building permit values have generally been on a rising trend for several years, though there have been periods of declining values over the last year. Rising permit values are mostly driven by higher residential permits within Halifax, as well as outside the city, to a smaller degree. Overall building permits rose through the first have of 2025 and have been declining since.
Residential permits followed a stable trend in late 2023 and early 2024, and had trended upward through most of 2025. In recent months, residential permits have been on a downward trend.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permit values reached a plateau from late 2023 through 2024. Non-residential permits 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 have been declines in single and multi-unit building permits across the province.
Non-residential building permits have lower values than residential permits. In Halifax, all categories of non-residential permits have decreased in recent months (exception: institutional/government in most recent results). 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 notable 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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