Victoria indicatorsAll measures Business and jobs
Business building permits downtown
79 in 12 months
No target expected. This is a context measure. A count of permits issued, shown as activity. Targets and comparisons
Source: City of Victoria. We read it on Nov 11, 2026.
Over time
2025 Permits, by year
- 57 permits
M municipal election: Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024
2025 Permits, by year
- 57 permits
M municipal election: Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024
2025 Permits, by year
- 57 permits
M municipal election: Nov 19, 2011; Nov 15, 2014; Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 17, 2005; May 12, 2009; May 14, 2013; May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024Local elections before 2011 are not marked.
2025 Permits, by year
- 57 permits
M municipal election: Nov 19, 2011; Nov 15, 2014; Oct 20, 2018; Oct 15, 2022P provincial election: May 17, 2005; May 12, 2009; May 14, 2013; May 9, 2017; Oct 24, 2020; Oct 19, 2024Local elections before 2011 are not marked.
Targets and comparisons
Context measure: no target expected
Context measure: no target expected. A count of permits issued, shown as activity.
Show the numbers as a table
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 57 |
| 2024 | 58 |
| 2023 | 69 |
| 2022 | 64 |
| 2021 | 72 |
| 2020 | 70 |
| 2019 | 117 |
| 2018 | 114 |
| 2017 | 111 |
| 2016 | 106 |
| 2015 | 118 |
| 2014 | 143 |
| 2013 | 100 |
| 2012 | 130 |
| 2011 | 155 |
| 2010 | 109 |
| 2009 | 96 |
| 2008 | 173 |
| 2007 | 162 |
| 2006 | 145 |
| 2005 | 125 |
| 2004 | 109 |
| 2003 | 132 |
Who decides
City of Victoria Council. Decides zoning and development permits, and regulates building by bylaw. Local Government Act, s. 479
Show the 1 other body and the laws
| Body | What it decides | Law or bylaw |
|---|---|---|
| City of Victoria Council | Decides zoning and development permits, and regulates building by bylaw. | Local Government Act, s. 479 Local Government Act, s. 490 Community Charter, s. 8 (3) (l) |
| Province of B.C. | Sets the B.C. Building Code. | Building Act, s. 3 |
Councils: last general local election October 17, 2026; next on October 19, 2030, the third Saturday of October set by the Local Government Act, s. 52. Province: last general election October 19, 2024; next set for October 21, 2028 unless called earlier (Constitution Act, s. 23).
Each row says what a body decides and links to the law, order or bylaw that gives it that role. It does not say who caused a change: markets, households and other governments also move these numbers. Who decides what, for every measure · How we choose
What this number does not show
- Counts building permits on properties the City classes as commercial in the Downtown neighbourhood: interior work (for example fitting out a shop, restaurant or office), larger or complex projects, and other commercial building work. Demolition, strip-out, blasting and noise permits, and permits later cancelled, are not counted. Each permit is counted once.
One more limit
- A permit shows that someone is investing in a space. It does not show that a business opened, how long it stays, or how many storefronts are empty. Storefront vacancy is not published as open data (see the methods page).
Not measured yet in business and jobs: empty storefronts and offices downtown, cleanliness and needle pick-up requests. See all 17 gaps
In plain words
Up 46% from the previous 12 months (Nov 10, 2024–Nov 9, 2025). Up 3.9% since the 12 months to Nov 2021. Year to date (Jan 1–Nov 9, 2026, preliminary): 71, against 49 in Jan 1–Nov 9, 2025, up 45%. Before the pandemic, 2019: 117 for the full year, 100 by the same date.
How many building permits the City has issued in the latest 12 months for commercial properties in the Downtown neighbourhood, such as fitting out a shop, restaurant or office, or larger building work, compared with the 12 months before. The year so far is shown as preliminary. The chart shows full calendar years.
How we decide “Better”
The change is 46.3% of the earlier value, at or above the 5% threshold.
A higher number means more owners and businesses are investing in commercial space downtown, such as fitting out a new shop, restaurant or office. 79 permits in the 12 months to Nov 9, 2026, compared with 54 in the 12 months before (+46%). Year to date, preliminary: 71 permits from January 1 to Nov 9, 2026, compared with 49 in the same days of 2025 (+45%). Before the pandemic, in 2019: 117 for the full year and 100 by Nov 9. Last full year, for context: 57 in 2025, compared with 58 in 2024.
Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series. The rule.
All notes on this number
Why it matters. Permits show owners and businesses choosing to invest in downtown space. Storefront vacancy and foot traffic would be more direct, but they are not published as open data.
- Counts building permits on properties the City classes as commercial in the Downtown neighbourhood: interior work (for example fitting out a shop, restaurant or office), larger or complex projects, and other commercial building work. Demolition, strip-out, blasting and noise permits, and permits later cancelled, are not counted. Each permit is counted once.
- A permit shows that someone is investing in a space. It does not show that a business opened, how long it stays, or how many storefronts are empty. Storefront vacancy is not published as open data (see the methods page).
- Small numbers: a few dozen permits a year, so a handful can move the change a lot. The headline is the latest 12 months, to the latest issue date in the City's file (Nov 9, 2026), against the 12 months before; the year to date is shown underneath as preliminary. 2019, the last year before the pandemic, is given as a reference. Calendar-year totals: 2003: 132, 2004: 109, 2005: 125, 2006: 145, 2007: 162, 2008: 173, 2009: 96, 2010: 109, 2011: 155, 2012: 130, 2013: 100, 2014: 143, 2015: 118, 2016: 106, 2017: 111, 2018: 114, 2019: 117, 2020: 70, 2021: 72, 2022: 64, 2023: 69, 2024: 58, 2025: 57.
- The count is calculated here from the City's complete permit file, which is updated daily. The City also publishes a separate 10-year summary file whose counts for the same years are lower; that file is not used.
- Some permits may be entered after they are issued, so the most recent weeks can rise slightly when the file is refreshed.
- The chart starts in 2003. Before then the City's file did not yet use separate labels for interior-only and strip-out permits (2002 is a changeover year), so earlier years cannot be counted the same way. The file's first full years after it went digital in 1994 are also incomplete.
Which places
Area: Downtown Victoria
The City of Victoria’s Downtown neighbourhood only.
Included
- The Downtown neighbourhood as drawn on the City of Victoria’s official neighbourhood map
Not included
- Every other City neighbourhood (for example James Bay, Fairfield, North Park and Burnside)
- All other municipalities
Official definition
How the agency describes it: Downtown Victoria (the City of Victoria's Downtown neighbourhood).
How we got it
This number is published by the agency as shown; it is not calculated here. The script reads it from the agency’s own file.
Licence and credits
Published under an open licence: anyone may reuse it with credit. About licences.
- Updated by agency
- Daily; latest release Nov 9, 2026
- Retrieved
- Nov 11, 2026, 6:29 PM B.C. time
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - City of Victoria.
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