BuildData
The Canadian
Construction Database
Over 5.5 million construction records across 60 Canadian cities, in one queryable database. Building permits, development permits, planning applications, business licences, and inspections, all normalized to a common schema, geocoded, and updated daily. Query it through a REST API or pull it as a free export.
Get API key free See coverageFive construction dataset types, each normalized so a query works the same way across every city. One API key, one schema.
| Dataset | Records | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Building permits | 3.4M+ | Issued construction permits across 60 cities, with type, value, status, and address |
| Inspections | 3.5M+ | Pass, fail, and conditional inspection results by type and date |
| Business licences | 690K+ | Active and historical business licences, normalized by category |
| Development permits | 368K+ | Development and land-use approvals upstream of building permits |
| Planning applications | 147K+ | Rezonings and planning applications, the earliest signal of new projects |
The database spans 60 municipalities across every region of Canada, and grows as cities publish machine-readable open data. A few of the largest:
See the full city-by-city coverage map for record counts and dataset availability per city.
Query the database
Filter by city, date, type, value, status, or geographic radius. Every dataset shares the same query pattern.
# All Toronto building permits issued since January 2024
# Returns: permit_type, value, status, address, lat/lng, date
# Free bulk export, no API key required
# JSON, CSV, or XLSX
Same endpoint pattern across permits, inspections, licences, and development permits.
Who uses a construction database
Construction suppliers and trades
Find new projects the moment a permit is issued. Filter by city, project value, and work type to build a live lead pipeline.
Real estate and proptech
Enrich property records with permit, inspection, and renovation history for any address, Canada-wide.
Market research and analytics
Track construction activity trends by region, dataset type, and time. One normalized schema across 60 cities.
Lenders and insurers
Verify permitted and inspected work during underwriting. Cross-reference permits with inspections at the same address.
Start with 25 free requests per day
No credit card required. Full API access via RapidAPI, plus free bulk export. OpenAPI spec and docs included.
Get a free API keyExplore the BuildData platform: building permits, inspections, business licences, development permits, full coverage.