For updates on how the U.S tariffs impact the Vaughan business community, visit vaughanbusiness.ca/tariffs.
2025 Q4 Building Permit Rankings
HIGHLIGHTS
- By the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, Vaughan ranked third nationally in the number of industrial building permits and sixth in the value of those permits.
- Vaughan remains the most s
- ignificant industrial market in York Region, surpassing 105.8 million square feet of industrial inventory in 2025.
- Vaughan’s non-residential permit value totaled more than $826 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $456.5 million coming from industrial permits.
- Vaughan is a leader in Ontario for non-residential development, ranking in the top ten by both value and number of non-residential permits.
- When looking specifically at commercial development, Vaughan ranks ninth nationally by value of building permits and sixth in Ontario by number of commercial building permits.
- In Ontario, Vaughan ranks in the top ten by number of institutional building permits.
- Industrial absorption in the Greater Toronto Area climbed to 4.1 million square feet, resulting in the highest quarterly absorption since the fourth quarter of 2022.
- Construction of office space is confined to major corridors in Toronto, with 90.7 per cent of all office space under construction in the Greater Toronto Area being built within walking distance of Union Station.
- Non-residential building construction costs rose 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, following a 0.7 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
ANALYSIS
The data received from Statistics Canada ranks the number and value of building permits for the quarter. As economic indicators, the number and value of building permits measure current demand in both residential and non-residential real estate markets and estimate the future performance of the construction industry. Building permit values are a key indicator of the local economy’s strength and a predictor of population and employment growth.
By the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, Vaughan ranked third nationally in the number of industrial building permits and sixth in the value of those permits.
Vaughan’s industrial sector thrived throughout 2025, and the performance of the industrial development market at the end of the fourth quarter reflects the city’s position as a top market in Canada. In 2025, Vaughan ranked third nationally in the number of industrial building permits and sixth in the value of those permits.
|
Top Ten Canadian Industrial Markets by Number of Permits, Q4 2025[1]
|
|
|
1. Mississauga |
6. Winnipeg |
|
2. Toronto |
7. Montreal |
|
3. Vaughan |
8. London |
|
4. Calgary |
9. Edmonton |
| 5. Brampton |
10. Markham |
|
Top Ten Canadian Industrial Markets by Value of Permits, Q4 2025[2]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Vaughan |
|
2. Brampton |
7. Calgary |
|
3. Winnipeg |
8. Montreal |
|
4. London |
9. Windsor |
|
5. Edmonton |
10. Mississauga |
Vaughan remains the most significant industrial market in York Region, surpassing 105.8 million square feet of industrial inventory in 2025.
Vaughan remains the most significant industrial market in York Region, with an industrial inventory of more than 105.8 million square feet. The city accounted for 61 per cent of York Region’s total industrial inventory at the end of the fourth quarter; Vaughan has more industrial inventory than all of York Region’s municipalities combined[3]. Vaughan’s industrial vacancy rate for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 2.0 per cent, down from the third quarter vacancy rate of 2.4 per cent.
Vaughan’s non-residential permit value totaled more than $826 million in the fourth quarter of 2025, with $456.5 million coming from industrial permits.
In 2025, Vaughan’s non-residential permits totaled more than $826 million in permit value; $456.5 million of that came from industrial permits[4]. Non-residential permits include industrial, commercial, and institutional.
Vaughan is a leader in Ontario for non-residential development, ranking in the top ten by both value and number of non-residential permits.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Vaughan ranked fifth in the number of non-residential building permits and seventh in the value of non-residential building permits in Ontario. Vaughan continues to maintain its position as a leader in non-residential development among Ontario municipalities.
|
Top Ten Ontario Non-Residential Markets by Number of Permits, Q4 2025[5]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Hamilton |
|
2. Mississauga |
7. London |
|
3. Ottawa |
8. Markham |
|
4. Brampton |
9. Kitchener |
|
5. Vaughan |
10. Guelph |
|
Top Ten Ontario Non-Residential Markets by Value of Permits, Q4 2025[6]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Hamilton |
|
2. Brampton |
7. Vaughan |
|
3. London |
8. Markham |
|
4. Mississauga |
9. Richmond Hill |
|
5. Ottawa |
10. Kitchener |
When looking specifically at commercial development, Vaughan ranks ninth nationally by value of building permits and sixth in Ontario by number of commercial building permits.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Vaughan ranked ninth in Canada by the value of commercial permits and sixth in Ontario by the number of commercial permits issued. Vaughan’s commercial permit value for the year was $157.5 million[7].
|
Top Ten Canadian Commercial Markets by Value of Permits, Q4 2025[8]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Mississauga |
|
2. Vancouver |
7. Burnaby |
|
3. Calgary |
8. Brampton |
|
4. Montreal |
9. Vaughan |
|
5. Edmonton |
10. Winnipeg |
|
Top Ten Ontario Commercial Markets by Number of Permits, Q4 2025[9]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Vaughan |
|
2. Mississauga |
7. London |
|
3. Ottawa |
8. Markham |
|
4. Brampton |
9. Kitchener |
|
5. Hamilton |
10. Windsor |
In Ontario, Vaughan ranks in the top ten by number of institutional building permits.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Vaughan ranks ninth overall in Ontario by the number of institutional building permits. Vaughan’s institutional permit value in 2025 was $85,121,353[10].
|
Top Ten Ontario Institutional Markets by Number of Permits, Q4 2025[11]
|
|
|
1. Toronto |
6. Guelph |
|
2. Mississauga |
7. Kitchener |
|
3. London |
8. Brampton |
|
4. Ottawa |
9. Vaughan |
|
5. Hamilton |
10. Windsor |
MARKET TRENDS
Industrial absorption in the Greater Toronto Area climbed to 4.1 million square feet, resulting in the highest quarterly absorption since the fourth quarter of 2022.
Industrial absorption increased from 1.2 million square feet in the third quarter to 4.1 million square feet in the fourth quarter of 2025. The average asking net rent in the Greater Toronto Area dropped slightly from $16.84 per square foot in the third quarter to $16.54 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2025. Vaughan’s industrial average asking net rent in the third quarter was slightly higher than the Greater Toronto Area’s average at $17.10 per square foot, but still fell from the third quarter’s average of $17.38[12].
Construction of office space is confined to major corridors in Toronto, with 90.7 per cent of all office space under construction in the Greater Toronto Area being built within walking distance of Union Station.
Commercial real estate is growing in concentrated pockets within the City of Toronto, notably in the Downtown Core, Yonge – Bloor, and the Yonge – Finch corridor. Financial Services, Insurance, and Real Estate accounted for 47 per cent of all square footage leased in the fourth quarter in the Greater Toronto Area. Proximity to transit is a key driver in office space development, as 90.7 per cent of all office space under construction in the Greater Toronto Area is within walking distance to Toronto’s Union Station[13].
Non-residential building construction costs rose 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, following a 0.7 per cent increase in the previous quarter.
Non-residential building construction costs increased across most divisions measured, with the structural steel (+1.7 per cent) and metal fabrications (+1.6 per cent) divisions recording the most significant increases. These rising costs for metal materials continue to reflect the upward price pressure associated with import tariffs[14].
[1] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[2] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[3] Q4 2025 Toronto Industrial Market Report. Colliers.
[4] Summary of Construction Activity to December 31, 2025. City of Vaughan.
[5] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[6] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[7] Summary of Construction Activity to December 31, 2025. City of Vaughan.
[8] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[9] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[10] Summary of Construction Activity to December 31, 2025. City of Vaughan.
[11] Q4 2025 Building Permit Data Report. Statistics Canada.
[12] Q4 2025 Toronto Industrial Market Report. Colliers.
[13] Q4 2025 Toronto Office Market Report. Colliers.
[14] Building Construction Price Indexes, Q4 2025. Statistics Canada