April 14, 2025
SUMMARY
Construction Total ICI permit values were down y/y and year-to-date (YTD) in February, with hefty declines in the industrial and institutional sectors. By structure type, hotels and restaurants had the highest YTD % increase, while Hamilton and Thunder Bay led the YTD increases at the CMA level.
PERMITS
Permits values decreased YTD, driven by large y/y declines within the industrial and institutional sectors in February.
Consistent with the above, the only structure types to see sizable increases in YTD permit value were in the commercial sector. Hotels and restaurants had the largest increase, going from $0.16B to $0.45B in 2025, with soaring permit activity in Hamilton ($2.8M to almost $150M) and KW-Cambridge ($1.3M to $33.6M). Office buildings permit values were also up YTD, with a jump in Windsor ($0.63M to $6.3M) and strong activity in Ottawa (about $230M to $330M).
Examining the permit activity by CMA, a couple regions stood out in their YTD advances. Thunder Bay was up sharply from $10.3M to $102.1M. Gains stemmed from a large y/y jump in medical, hospital structures in January, likely owing to a new cardiac arrest surgery unit and mental health and addictions spaces being introduced to Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre.
Hamilton also saw a notable YTD increase, primarily owing to the aforementioned skyrocketing in the hotels and restaurant subsector, but also in warehouses (which jumped y/y from $6M to about $75M). One major project likely fueling this increase is the IKEA distribution centre project slated for construction this year.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ali Ahmad
Research Analyst
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 222
aahmad@iciconstruction.com
