On the flip side: More fixes and expansions, fewer new builds for shops and services in your neighbourhood

Canada’s population increased from 36.8 million in the first quarter of 2018 to 41.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024—an uptick of 12.7%. 

The shortage of housing to keep up with this population growth has certainly been a hot topic over that period. But alongside any increase in housing—whether that be in an existing neighbourhood or a newly planned one—there is always a need for local shops and services, such as schools, stores and gas stations.

Like housing, these types of non-residential buildings either involve an improvement to an existing building or the construction of a new one for a variety of reasons, including labour and construction costs and planning cycles. Our detailed building permit data go back as far as 2018. Let’s have a look at some of the breakdowns (data are seasonally unadjusted).

Retail, plazas and recreational facilities more than twice as likely to be improved than to be newly constructed

From January 2018 to December 2024, municipalities across Canada issued permits for the construction of 5,489 new trade and services buildings. Most permits for this category were issued for retail and wholesale outlets and for retail complexes, along with a handful of other buildings, such as funeral homes and motor vehicle showrooms. 

The number of permits for improvements to trade and services buildings more than doubled (+174.8%) to 15,084 from January 2018 to December 2024. These could mean either additions to existing buildings, or alterations and improvements.

It was a similar story for permits for new construction (1,287) and improvements (3,268) for recreational facilities, including theatres and performing arts centres, as well as both indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, such as sports complexes and outdoor swimming pools.

Educational buildings are more likely to be improved than newly constructed buildings

It might come as no surprise to learn that schools, universities and other educational buildings such as libraries, museums, galleries and scientific centres are likelier to be improved than newly constructed. 

From January 2018 to December 2024, 854 permits were issued for the new construction of these types of buildings, compared with 10,010 permits issued for improvements.

Better chance at finding a new service station compared with an improved one

The breakdown of permit types was a bit more even when it comes to service stations; over the past seven years, 1,232 permits were issued for new construction, while 1,023 were issued for improvements to existing ones.