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May 19, 2026BUILDING PERMITS, MARCH 2026 Monthly (seasonally adjusted, March 2026 vs February 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) rose 42.4% to $237.5 million, the fastest gain among provinces (tied with Prince Edward Island). Halifax permits grew 54.6% to $141.1 million while permits outside the city rose 27.7% to $96.4 million. National permits rose 10.3% to $13.5 billion with gains in all provinces except New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia's residential building permits grew 60.7% to $201.6 million, the fastest gain among provinces. Halifax residential permits increased 92.9% to $123.0 million. Outside the city, residential permit values rose 27.4% to $78.6 million. National residential building permit values fell 3.3% to $8.0 billion with declines in six provinces. Residential permit values were down most in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits fell 13.1% to $35.9 million, the second fastest decline among provinces after New Brunswick. Halifax non-residential permits dropped 34.3% to $18.1 million. Outside the city, non-residential permit values increased 28.9% to $17.8 million. National non-residential building permit values rose 38.4% to $5.5 billion with gains in seven provinces. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest gains.
Year-to-date (January-March 2026 vs January-March 2025)
Nova Scotia's total building permits (residential and non-residential) were down 30.1% in the first quarter of the year comparing with the same period in 2025, the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax permits declined 24.4% and outside the city permit values decreased 36.4%. National permits were up 2.2%. Building permit values were down in six provinces. Manitoba reported the largest gain.
In the first three months of 2026, Nova Scotia's residential building permits fell 8.3% compared to the same period in 2025. Halifax residential permits declined 12.4% and outside the city residential permit values decreased 1.2%. National residential building permit values decreased 2.0%. Residential permit values were down in six provinces, with the fastest decline in Prince Edward Island. The largest gain was reported in Manitoba.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building permits dropped 55.8% in the first quarter of 2026 (compared with the same period in 2025), the fastest decline among provinces. Halifax permits declined 46.2% while non-residential permits outside the city fell 62.5%. National non-residential building permit values rose 10.0%, despite declines in seven provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain in year-to-date non-residential permit values.
Across the province, both residential and non-residential permits declined in January-March 2026 compared to January-March 2025.
Permit values for single dwelling units were down across the province. Halifax multiple unit permit values decline offset the slight rise in the rest of the province.
All categories of non-residential permit values were down across the province except a rise in commercial permits outside of Halifax.
Year-to-date building permit values declined across the province. Halifax building permit values declined across all categories. Outside the city, building permit values declined across all categories except multiple unit dwelling and commercial 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 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, all categories of non-residential permits have decreased 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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