# Canada Building Permit Leads — Toronto, Vancouver +3 (`truenorthdata/canada-building-permits`) Actor

Fresh Canadian building-permit leads for contractors and suppliers. Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal — normalized into one JSON/CSV feed. Filter by work type, city, and date to find who's building right now. Re-run weekly for a steady pipeline. Ready for Clay, Make, n8n, and CRMs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/truenorthdata/canada-building-permits.md
- **Developed by:** [Vadim Zabin](https://apify.com/truenorthdata) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Real estate, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Canada Building Permits Scraper — Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal

Fresh **building permits from five of Canada's largest construction markets** in one normalized feed — who just got a permit, for what work, at which address, and at what project value. Built exclusively on official municipal open data: City of Toronto (refreshed daily), City of Vancouver, City of Calgary, City of Edmonton and Ville de Montréal. No proxies, no blocks, no login.

### Who uses this data

- **Contractors & trades** (roofing, HVAC, solar, electrical, landscaping): a new permit at an address = a homeowner or GC actively spending on that property. Filter by keyword ("roof", "solar", "pool") and get a lead list with addresses.
- **Building-material suppliers & equipment rental**: target active job sites by neighbourhood and project value.
- **Market researchers & PropTech**: construction activity by city, community and month; project values; housing units.
- **Real estate investors**: renovation and development signals street by street.

### What you get

One clean schema across all cities: permit number, city, status, permit type/class, work class, description, address, community, applicant, **contractor name** (Calgary/Vancouver), **estimated project value in CAD**, housing units, applied/issued/completed dates, coordinates (where provided), source.

### Built for monitoring

Enable *Incremental mode* and schedule the Actor daily or weekly — each run returns only permits you haven't seen before. Your sales team gets a fresh lead list every Monday; you only pay for new records.

### Contractor names & project value

For **Calgary and Vancouver**, permits include the **contractor name** straight from the city's open data — so you see who's doing the job, not just the address. Ideal for suppliers selling to builders, subcontractors chasing work, and competitive intel on who's active in a market.

Records also carry **estimated project value**, square footage, and housing-unit counts where the city publishes them (including Edmonton) — so you can score and prioritize the biggest jobs first.

Note: some cities also expose an applicant name; where that is a private individual (a homeowner) we keep it out of the default view. The contractor field is a business.

### Input example — roofing leads in Calgary, $20k+ projects

```json
{
    "cities": ["calgary"],
    "issuedWithinDays": 14,
    "keywords": ["roof"],
    "minProjectValue": 20000,
    "onlyNewSinceLastRun": true,
    "maxResults": 500
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
    "permitId": "BP2026-11223",
    "city": "Calgary",
    "province": "AB",
    "status": "Issued",
    "permitType": "Single Construction Permit",
    "workClass": "Alteration",
    "description": "REROOF, SOLAR PV INSTALLATION",
    "address": "248 SADDLELAKE DR NE",
    "community": "SADDLE RIDGE",
    "contractor": "ACME ROOFING LTD",
    "projectValue": 46089.8,
    "issuedDate": "2026-06-28",
    "latitude": 51.1273,
    "longitude": -113.9341,
    "source": "calgary-open-data",
    "country": "CA"
}
```

### FAQ

**How fresh is the data?** Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Montreal refresh daily or near-daily. Calgary's open dataset can lag by a few weeks - the Actor returns whatever the city has published (use a 60+ day window for Calgary).

**Is this legal?** Yes — all five sources are official municipal open-data programs published for reuse.

**More cities?** Open an issue to vote for the next one.

**How do I get permit leads without coding?** Press *Run* — the default input returns recent permits across all five cities as a table you can export to Excel or CSV.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor works as a tool for AI agents via the [Apify MCP server](https://mcp.apify.com). Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible agent can pull fresh Canadian building permits on demand — e.g. *"find all permits over $1M issued in Toronto this week"*.

Add this to your MCP client configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=truenorthdata/canada-building-permits"
    }
  }
}
```

On first connection you'll sign in to Apify via OAuth. Your agent can then call the Actor with any input this README describes. Works with agentic payments (x402/Skyfire) too.

### Use in Clay and n8n (no code)

Plug building-permit activity straight into the tools your team already uses.

**Clay** — add a source → **Import from Apify Actor** → search `canada-building-permits` → set your input (cities, date window). Turn on auto-update to append new permits as rows, then enrich the contractors/applicants with email and LinkedIn.

**n8n** — add the official **Apify** node (`@apify/n8n-nodes-apify`): **Run Actor** on `truenorthdata/canada-building-permits`, then **Get Dataset Items**, and route to Google Sheets, a CRM, or a Slack alert. Add a **Schedule** trigger for a running feed of new permits.

#### Ready-made n8n template

Don't want to wire it up yourself? Import our ready-made n8n workflow — it pulls fresh permits every week, filters to your trade and minimum project value, and appends them to a Google Sheet (or your CRM), deduped automatically.

→ Copy-paste import + setup: [Two free n8n templates for Canadian B2B lead lists](https://dev.to/truenorthdata/two-free-n8n-templates-for-canadian-b2b-lead-lists-copy-paste-import-49ie)

**Ready-made n8n templates:** import a working lead-gen workflow in one click — see [Two free n8n templates for Canadian B2B lead lists](https://dev.to/truenorthdata/two-free-n8n-templates-for-canadian-b2b-lead-lists-copy-paste-import-1mkd).

### More Canada open-data Actors by TrueNorthData

- [Canada Tenders Scraper](https://apify.com/truenorthdata/canada-tenders-scraper) — federal + Québec government tenders (CanadaBuys, SEAO)
- [Contractor License Scraper Canada](https://apify.com/truenorthdata/canada-contractor-licenses) — Quebec RBQ + Ontario HCRA builder & trade licences
- [Canada Charities Scraper](https://apify.com/truenorthdata/canada-charities) — CRA registered charities directory
- [Canada New Incorporations](https://apify.com/truenorthdata/canada-new-incorporations) — fresh federal company registrations, daily

All built on official Canadian open data.

# Actor input Schema

## `cities` (type: `array`):

Which cities to fetch. All use official municipal open data.

## `issuedWithinDays` (type: `integer`):

Only permits issued in the last N days. 0 = no date limit (large!). Note: Calgary's open dataset can lag by a few weeks - use 60+ days to be safe.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

Match in description/type/work class (e.g. "roof", "solar", "HVAC", "demolition"). Case-insensitive. Empty = all.

## `workTypes` (type: `array`):

Filter by work class, e.g. "New", "Addition", "Alteration", "Demolition". Empty = all.

## `minProjectValue` (type: `integer`):

Only permits with estimated project cost at or above this value. 0 = no minimum. Note: records without a value are excluded when this is set.

## `onlyNewSinceLastRun` (type: `boolean`):

Skip permits already returned by previous runs - ideal for scheduled lead monitoring.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on returned records (cost guard).

## `includeRawRow` (type: `boolean`):

Attach the original city record under 'raw'.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "toronto",
    "vancouver",
    "calgary",
    "edmonton",
    "montreal"
  ],
  "issuedWithinDays": 60,
  "keywords": [],
  "workTypes": [],
  "minProjectValue": 0,
  "onlyNewSinceLastRun": false,
  "maxResults": 500,
  "includeRawRow": false
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("truenorthdata/canada-building-permits").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("truenorthdata/canada-building-permits").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call truenorthdata/canada-building-permits --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=truenorthdata/canada-building-permits",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/glmuEIKg27gYlEffl/builds/vfnRcemscoaXIcxXJ/openapi.json