The monthly numbers released this morning by Statistics Canada show an uptick in the value of residential building permits in Alberta in March.

Led by multiple-dwelling projects, permit value was up by 20% compared to March 2024.

The monthly numbers tend to be quite volatile, so it’s important to look at the trend over a longer period. As the chart below shows, residential permit values have been on a strong upward trend since 2022.

The upward trend in permit value is in keeping with the rapid pace of housing starts in the province.

Both the permit and housing starts trends point to the need for housing construction to continue to catch up to the population boom Alberta has been experiencing since 2023. Alberta’s population growth was the highest in the country last year at 3.5%* with real-time estimates showing it just passed the 5-million mark.

Although Alberta’s population growth is forecast to slow, ongoing increases combined with the housing backlog will continue to support new residential construction in the province. Our current tracking sees housing starts cooling slightly to 45K this year from 47.8K in 2024, but this still represents a strong pace of new home construction in the province.

*Change between January 1, 2024 and January 1, 2025.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Rolls-Royce Limited was founded in 1904.

Today’s trivia question: In average barrels per day, how much crude oil did the U.S. export last year?