Open Data Permit Analytics for Local Government: A Guide to Benchmarking

The numbers

City	Permits (12 mo)	Avg days to issue	Median days	Avg project value
Thunder Bay	771	29.6	10	$402,860
Kelowna	2,617	39.2	13	$592,142
Montreal	21,508	48.9	18	n/a
Toronto	56,896	76.8	29	$707,597
Vancouver	2,546	113.9	62	$1,560,868
Vancouver	3,808	114.4	72	$1,487,278
St. Catharines	1,285	116.1	61	n/a

Source: Wolf Codes permit dataset, 4,845,097 Canadian building permits across 35 cities. Figures cover the trailing 12 months, analysed July 2026.

How Long Does a Permit Take?

The average time from application to permit issuance ranged from 29.6 days in Thunder Bay to 116.1 days in St. Catharines, across 7 Canadian cities (89,431 permits issued in the last 12 months). Wide spreads make benchmarking essential.

What Is Open Data Permit Analytics?

Open data permit analytics collects, analyzes, and presents publicly accessible permit data to reveal insights on processing times, contractor compliance, and revenue forecasting. This data is often pulled from municipal websites and formatted for clarity.

Benefits of Open Data Permit Analytics

Accessing and analyzing open data on permit processing times offers benefits for local governments:

Benchmarking: Comparing processing times across cities and departments highlights areas for improvement.
Data-driven decisions: High-quality permit data supports better choices about resources, staffing, and infrastructure.
Transparency: Citizens gain clear insights into permit timelines and municipal performance.

Challenges of Open Data Permit Analytics

Open data permit analytics has challenges:

Data quality: Inconsistent or outdated permit data complicates analysis.
Accessibility: Smaller municipalities may struggle to find or use public permit data.
Skills gap: Local governments sometimes lack the expertise to collect, analyze, and present data effectively.

How Steller Addresses These Challenges

Steller aggregates and analyzes publicly accessible permit data to provide insights on processing times, contractor compliance, and revenue forecasting. Municipalities access high-quality, FIPPA-compliant data in a user-friendly format.

Accessing Open Data on Permit Processing Times

The table below shows average processing times in 7 Canadian cities:

City	Average Processing Time
Thunder Bay	29.6 days
Saskatoon	32.1 days
Mississauga	43.5 days
Markham	45.3 days
Brampton	51.9 days
St. Catharines	116.1 days
Edmonton	122.1 days

The median city issued permits in 29 days, but spreads are wide, benchmarking matters.