Why are we conducting this survey?
The monthly Building and Demolition Permits Survey collects data on the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities for both residential and non-residential buildings, and the number of residential dwellings authorized. The survey also measures the number of dwelling units demolished.
Building permit data are widely used as a leading indicator for the construction industry since the issuance of a building permit is one of the first steps in the construction process.
Statistics on building permits are essential inputs for the computation of residential building construction expenditures, the quarterly and annual estimates of net capital stock, and depreciation by component. They are also a major input in the computation of investment in non-residential building construction.
In addition, the results of this survey are used by CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) as a reference frame for conducting a monthly survey of housing starts and completions in accordance with its mandate.
The statistics are used by a wide range of economists, construction industry analysts, housing market analysts and economic development officers across Canada.
Your information may also be used by Statistics Canada for other statistical and research purposes.
Your participation in this survey is required under the authority of the Statistics Act.
Other important information
Authorization to collect this information
Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.
Confidentiality
By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.
Record linkages
To enhance the data from this survey and to reduce the response burden, Statistics Canada may combine the acquired data with information from other surveys or from administrative sources.
Data sharing agreements
To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into a data sharing agreement with provincial and territorial statistical agencies, which must keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes.
Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies. For this survey, there are data sharing agreements with Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. Shared data will be limited to information from the respective province or territory. Each provincial or territorial Statistics Act includes the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of information as the Statistics Act.
Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data, and mailing it to the following address:
Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Investment, Science and Technology Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6
You may also contact us by email at Statistics Canada Help Desk or by fax at 613-951-6583.
For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as well as the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Reporting period
For the purposes of this survey, report information for the month of January 2022.
Reporting instructions
Please refer to the Building and Demolition Permits - Monthly Report - Reporting guide(s) when completing your report.
Deadline for completing this questionnaire
Please complete this questionnaire and submit it within 10 days of receipt.
Other information about this questionnaire
Additional information about this survey can be found at: Building permits
Monthly Building and Demolition Permits Survey
1. Did you issue any permits for January 2022?
1-Yes
2-No
2. Please indicate if you will be reporting the value of construction in dollars or thousands of dollars.
1- Dollars
The value of the construction project rounded to the nearest dollar.
2- Thousands of dollars
The value of the construction project rounded to the nearest thousand. i.e., $234,800 should be $235.
There are two options for reporting monthly building and demolition permit data:
Electronic questionnaire: Provide the number of permits issued for the indicated reference month, then enter permit information using the web browser.
Attaching files: Enter permit information in the provided excel template, and save to your computer using the following naming convention: BPER_YYYYMM where BPER is the survey acronym, YYYY is the year and MM the month of the reference period.
You can also attach files using other formats (.txt, .pdf, etc.).
3. Indicate whether you will be completing the electronic questionnaire or attaching files with the required information.
1-Completing the electronic questionnaire
2-Attaching files
4. Please attach the files containing your monthly building and demolition permits for January 2022.
Please submit only for the municipality included in this electronic questionnaire. If you require assistance, please contact 1-877-949-9492 (toll free). To submit your completed questionnaire attachment, please follow the instructions below. Once the files are attached, use the navigation buttons to submit the questionnaire.
To attach files
Press the Attach files button.
Choose the file to attach. Multiple files can be attached.
Note:
Each file must not exceed 5 MB.
All attachments combined must not exceed 50 MB.
The name and size of each file attached will be displayed on the page.
There are no files attached.
5. Please provide the number of permits the municipality issued for January 2022.
Include all building and demolition permits for both residential and non-residential buildings.
Number of permits
6. Report the details for each building and demolition permit.
Press the “Start” button to capture information for each permit.
7. Please provide the details for this permit – Part 1.
Permit details
Permit number
Issue date of permit(Format: 4 digit year dash 2 digit month dash 2 digit day)
Example: YYYY-MM-DD
Name of owner
Street address of owner
City of owner
Owner phone number (including area code)(Enter all ten numbers without spaces or special characters)
Example: 123-123-1234
Is the owner name, address and phone number the same as the builder or contractor name, address and phone number?
1-Yes
2-No
Is the owner address the same as the construction or demolition location (site address)?
1-Yes
2-No
8. Please provide the details for this permit – Part 2.
Please specify builder or contractor information
Name of builder or contractor
Street address of builder or contractor
City of builder or contractor
Builder or contractor phone number (including area code)(Enter all ten numbers without spaces or special characters)
Example: 123-123-1234
Please specify construction or demolition location
Construction or demolition location (site address)
Construction or demolition project details
Type of building code
Single House, single detached home
Single House - Condominium
Mobile home
Seasonal Dwelling (unsuitable for year-round occupancy); cottage, house boat
Semi-Detached or Double (side by side)
Semi-Detached or Double (side by side) - Condominium
Apartment, apartment building, duplex, triplex, quadruple
Apartment - Condominium
Row House, garden home, town house, carriage home, quadrex
Row House – Condominium
Primary industry building; farm building, greenhouse, fish hatchery
Mining building
Plant for manufacturing, processing and assembling goods
Transportation terminal; bus and truck terminal, airport, railway station
Maintenance building; hangar, repair shop, railway shed
Storage building; warehouse (for storage purposes only), grain elevator, locker rental, silo
Communication building; post office, mail sorting plant, radio station
Utility building; hydro control building, oil refinery building, water filtration building, sewage treatment building, natural gas processing plants
Engineering; parking garage, tunnel, dock
Retail and wholesale outlets; department store, photographic studio, rental service, beauty salon, dry cleaner, laundromat
Retail complex; plaza, mall, shopping center, store/office building
Office building; doctor’s office, insurance company, bank, office/cafeteria
Office complex; office/store, office/apartment
Hotel, hotel/motel, motor hotel
Motel, cabin
Other accommodation; student’s residence, boarding house, religious residence, hostel
Convention center, exhibition building
Restaurant, bar, tavern, night club, diner, donut shop
Theatre and performing art center; movie theatre, concert hall, cultural center
Indoor recreational building; sports complex, community center, arena
Outdoor recreational building; golf club, campground facilities, outdoor skating rink, outdoor swimming pool
Motor vehicle show room; car dealership, motorcycle and tractor sale
Service station, repair garage and specialty shop; gasoline station, service station/car wash, muffler shop
Laboratory and research center; medical research center, industrial laboratory, observatory
Special building use; funeral director, crematorium, mausoleum
Government legislative and administration building other than office building; city hall, court of justice
Other government building; police station, prison, fire station, military building
Elementary school, kindergarten
Secondary school, high school, junior high school
Post-secondary institution; technical institute, trade school
University
Library, museum, art gallery, aquarium, botanical garden, scientific center
Hospital; general, military, specialized
Clinic, health unit; out-patient clinic, first aid station
Day care, nursing home, home for the blind, charitable home, detoxification center
Religious building; church, cathedral, temple, citadel, synagogue
Type of work code
New construction
Addition to existing building (structural extension) for non-residential only
Alteration and improvements
Foundation
Superstructure or part of new building
Mechanical
Conversion from single to multiple dwelling
Conversion from multiple to multiple dwelling
Conversion from non-residential to residential building
Deconversion from single to non-residential building
Deconversion from multiple to multiple or single dwelling or non-residential building
Installation of a pre-fabricated building
Additional value to previous permit(s)
Swimming pool
Garage and carport
Demolition
9. Please provide the details for this permit – Part 3.
Value of construction
Value of construction $CAN
Units
Dwelling units created
Dwelling units lost
Units demolished
Building area
Gross area
Unit of measure
1-Ft2 (Square feet)
2-M2 (Square metres)
Construction details
Start date of construction (if known)(Format: 4 digit year dash 2 digit month dash 2 digit day)
Example: YYYY-MM-DD
Permit description or additional permit comments