According to a report by the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS), total ICI permit value was up 6 per cent year-to-date in the first half of 2025, driven by a 29 per cent year-to-date increase in the institutional sector.
Month-to-month ICI permit value dropped from $3.59 billion to $2.64 billion, dragged down by a large decline in the institutional sector from May to June.
The spike from May, however, still contributed to a large increase in both institutional and overall ICI permit value in the second quarter.
While industrial and commercial sectors saw sizable quarterly increases, year-to-date values for both were down. Only the institutional sector was up year-to-date, with a 29 per cent increase.
The data revealed that the source of the large spike in May institutional permit value was from the medical and hospital sector in St. Catharines.
A $1.62 billion permit was issued in May, comprising almost 90 per cent of the year-to-date permit value in that sector and making up almost 80 per cent of the institutional year-to-date value. This is likely related to permits for the South Niagara Hospital Project.
The next largest sector by year-to-date permit value was office buildings at $1.5 billion. The source of this sector’s strength was steady permitting activity in Toronto throughout each month in 2025, totalling to roughly $1.16 billion.
Schools and education rounded out the top three building types with a year-to-date value of $1.2 billion. Most of this came from Toronto as well, according to the report, which comprised roughly half of the value.
Other notable regions with permitting activity in this sector included London, Kingston, and Guelph.