# Canada Building Permits - 6 Cities, Official Open Data (`agentumgroup/ca-building-permits`) Actor

Normalized building permits from official municipal open-data APIs across 6 major Canadian cities. One schema, daily updates. Turn new-permit signals into contractor leads, proptech analytics, or AI-agent feeds. No scraping, no proxies.

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

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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 a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases.
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.

In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md):

```bash
npm install apify-client
```

In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md):

```bash
pip install apify-client
```

In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md):

````bash
# MacOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash
# Windows
irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex
```bash

In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md).

If your project is in a different language, use 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 — Open Data (6 Cities)

Get **fresh, normalized building-permit records** from Canada's largest cities in one run — pulled straight from each city's **official open-data API**, not scraped HTML. One consistent schema across Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Surrey.

A building permit means someone is about to spend money on construction. This Actor turns that signal into a clean dataset you can pipe into your CRM, spreadsheet, BI tool, or AI agent.

### Quickstart (30 seconds)

1. Click **Try for free** above — no credit card required for your first run.
2. Leave the default input (all 6 cities, up to 500 permits each) and click **Start**.
3. Download results as JSON, CSV, or connect via the Apify API.

**Typical first run:** ~800 permits across 6 cities in under 60 seconds.

For ongoing use, set `issuedAfter` to last week and schedule weekly — you get only new permits, newest first.

### Why this Actor

- **Official sources only.** Every record comes from a municipal open-data portal (Socrata, CKAN, Opendatasoft, ArcGIS). No proxies, no CAPTCHAs, no ToS grey zones — and near-zero breakage risk.
- **One schema, six cities.** Field names are normalized across cities (`permitId`, `issuedDate`, `estValue`, `contractor`, …) so you don't have to reconcile six different formats. The untouched city payload is kept under `raw` for power users.
- **Built for schedules.** Set `issuedAfter` to last week and run it weekly — you get only the newest permits, newest first.

### Use cases

- **Contractor & trades lead-gen** — new permits are pre-qualified leads: roofers, HVAC, electricians, landscapers, and restoration companies can see who just got approval to build, where, and for how much.
- **Building-materials & supply-chain targeting** — suppliers and distributors can spot high-value projects (`estValue`) and the general contractors running them the week they're issued.
- **Market research & proptech** — track construction activity by city, permit type, and project value over time; feed dashboards, models, or investment theses.
- **Insurance & risk** — monitor renovation and demolition activity at the address level.
- **AI agents** — a stable, structured feed of Canadian construction activity for agentic workflows.

### City coverage

| City | Province | Source API | Portal | Typical update cadence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | BC | Opendatasoft | [Issued building permits](https://opendata.vancouver.ca/explore/dataset/issued-building-permits/) | daily |
| Calgary | AB | Socrata (SODA) | [Building Permits](https://data.calgary.ca/d/c2es-76ed) | daily |
| Edmonton | AB | Socrata (SODA) | [General Building Permits](https://data.edmonton.ca/d/24uj-dj8v) | daily |
| Toronto | ON | CKAN Datastore | [Building Permits — Active Permits](https://open.toronto.ca/dataset/building-permits-active-permits/) | daily |
| Winnipeg | MB | Socrata (SODA) | [Detailed Building Permit Data](https://data.winnipeg.ca/d/it4w-cpf4) | weekly |
| Surrey | BC | ArcGIS FeatureServer | [Issued Building Permits](https://opendata-surrey.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/f3ec200f59a342e38c52248f07fe610d) | weekly |

More cities are added over time — coverage breadth is the roadmap.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `cities` | array | all 6 | Which cities to fetch (`vancouver`, `calgary`, `edmonton`, `toronto`, `winnipeg`, `surrey`) |
| `issuedAfter` | date | — | Only permits issued on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
| `issuedBefore` | date | — | Only permits issued on/before this date |
| `permitTypes` | string | — | Comma-separated, case-insensitive substring filter on `permitType` (e.g. `demolition, new house`) |
| `maxRecordsPerCity` | integer | 500 | Cap per city, newest permits first |

```json
{
    "cities": ["calgary", "toronto"],
    "issuedAfter": "2026-07-01",
    "permitTypes": "demolition",
    "maxRecordsPerCity": 200
}
````

### Output

One dataset item per permit:

```json
{
    "city": "Calgary",
    "permitId": "BP2026-13235",
    "permitType": "Commercial / Multi Family Project",
    "status": "Issued Permit",
    "issuedDate": "2026-07-18",
    "address": "2827 SUNRIDGE BV NE",
    "description": "Fire suppression system upgrade",
    "estValue": 2600,
    "contractor": "SPROUSE FIRE & SAFETY",
    "sourceUrl": "https://data.calgary.ca/d/c2es-76ed",
    "fetchedAt": "2026-07-18T20:15:00.000Z",
    "raw": { "...": "the city's original record, trimmed" }
}
```

Field notes:

- `estValue` — estimated construction value in CAD. Winnipeg does not publish it (`null`).
- `contractor` — contractor/builder **company name** as published by the city (Edmonton does not publish one). No personal contact data is collected beyond what appears in the official permit record.
- `raw` — the city's original payload with geometry blobs and applicant mailing addresses removed and long strings truncated.
- A per-run `RUN_SUMMARY` object (counts and per-city status) is stored in the run's key-value store.

### Pricing

Pay-per-result on the Apify platform:

| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| Per run (start fee) | $0.01 |
| Per record returned | $0.002 |

**Worked examples:**

- 500 permits (1 city, 1 run): $0.01 + (500 × $0.002) = **$1.01**
- 3,000 permits (6 cities, 1 run): $0.01 + (3,000 × $0.002) = **$6.01**
- Weekly schedule, 500 new permits/week: ~**$1.01/week** ($4.04/month)

### Data quality & limits

- Records are returned **newest first**; `maxRecordsPerCity` caps each city.
- Each city publishes on its own cadence (see table). "Issued date" semantics can differ slightly by city; the normalized `issuedDate` always reflects the city's issued/issue date field.
- If one city's portal is down, the run continues with the remaining cities and reports the failure in `RUN_SUMMARY`.

### FAQ

**How often is the data updated?**
Most cities update daily; Winnipeg and Surrey are weekly. The Actor always fetches the current state of each portal on every run.

**Is this legal to use commercially?**
Yes. All data comes from official municipal open-data programs published under open-government licences designed for exactly this kind of reuse. Business/public data only — no personal data beyond what appears in the official permit record.

**What data licence applies?**
Each city publishes under its municipal open-government licence (variants of the Canadian Open Government Licence). Attribution is appreciated.

**I need a city that isn't covered — can you add it?**
Email manager@agentumgroup.com with the city name and we'll assess whether it has a usable open-data portal.

**Who do I contact for support?**
Email manager@agentumgroup.com — typically replied to within 1 business day.

### Legality

All data comes from official municipal open-data programs published under open-government licences for exactly this kind of reuse. Business/public data only.

# Actor input Schema

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

Which cities to fetch permits from. Each city is backed by that city's official open-data API.

## `issuedAfter` (type: `string`):

Only include permits issued on or after this date. Recommended for lead-gen: set to last week's date and schedule the Actor weekly.

## `issuedBefore` (type: `string`):

Only include permits issued on or before this date.

## `permitTypes` (type: `string`):

Optional, comma-separated, case-insensitive substring match on the normalized permitType field. Example: "demolition, new house". Leave empty for all permit types.

## `maxRecordsPerCity` (type: `integer`):

Stop fetching a city after this many records (newest permits first).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "vancouver",
    "calgary",
    "edmonton",
    "toronto",
    "winnipeg",
    "surrey"
  ],
  "maxRecordsPerCity": 500
}
```

# 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 = {
    "cities": [
        "vancouver",
        "calgary",
        "edmonton",
        "toronto",
        "winnipeg",
        "surrey"
    ],
    "maxRecordsPerCity": 500
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agentumgroup/ca-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 = {
    "cities": [
        "vancouver",
        "calgary",
        "edmonton",
        "toronto",
        "winnipeg",
        "surrey",
    ],
    "maxRecordsPerCity": 500,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agentumgroup/ca-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 '{
  "cities": [
    "vancouver",
    "calgary",
    "edmonton",
    "toronto",
    "winnipeg",
    "surrey"
  ],
  "maxRecordsPerCity": 500
}' |
apify call agentumgroup/ca-building-permits --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Canada Building Permits - 6 Cities, Official Open Data",
        "description": "Normalized building permits from official municipal open-data APIs across 6 major Canadian cities. One schema, daily updates. Turn new-permit signals into contractor leads, proptech analytics, or AI-agent feeds. No scraping, no proxies.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "3Y2tchttvHIdd6w8u"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/agentumgroup~ca-building-permits/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-agentumgroup-ca-building-permits",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/agentumgroup~ca-building-permits/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-agentumgroup-ca-building-permits",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK",
                        "content": {
                            "application/json": {
                                "schema": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/agentumgroup~ca-building-permits/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-agentumgroup-ca-building-permits",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    },
    "components": {
        "schemas": {
            "inputSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "cities": {
                        "title": "Cities",
                        "uniqueItems": true,
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Which cities to fetch permits from. Each city is backed by that city's official open-data API.",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "enum": [
                                "vancouver",
                                "calgary",
                                "edmonton",
                                "toronto",
                                "winnipeg",
                                "surrey"
                            ],
                            "enumTitles": [
                                "Vancouver, BC",
                                "Calgary, AB",
                                "Edmonton, AB",
                                "Toronto, ON",
                                "Winnipeg, MB",
                                "Surrey, BC"
                            ]
                        },
                        "default": [
                            "vancouver",
                            "calgary",
                            "edmonton",
                            "toronto",
                            "winnipeg",
                            "surrey"
                        ]
                    },
                    "issuedAfter": {
                        "title": "Issued after (YYYY-MM-DD)",
                        "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Only include permits issued on or after this date. Recommended for lead-gen: set to last week's date and schedule the Actor weekly."
                    },
                    "issuedBefore": {
                        "title": "Issued before (YYYY-MM-DD)",
                        "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Only include permits issued on or before this date."
                    },
                    "permitTypes": {
                        "title": "Permit type filter",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Optional, comma-separated, case-insensitive substring match on the normalized permitType field. Example: \"demolition, new house\". Leave empty for all permit types."
                    },
                    "maxRecordsPerCity": {
                        "title": "Max records per city",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 50000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Stop fetching a city after this many records (newest permits first).",
                        "default": 500
                    }
                }
            },
            "runsResponseSchema": {
                "type": "object",
                "properties": {
                    "data": {
                        "type": "object",
                        "properties": {
                            "id": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "actId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "userId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "startedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "finishedAt": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "format": "date-time",
                                "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z"
                            },
                            "status": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "READY"
                            },
                            "meta": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "origin": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "API"
                                    },
                                    "userAgent": {
                                        "type": "string"
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "stats": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "inputBodyLen": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2000
                                    },
                                    "rebootCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "restartCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "resurrectCount": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "computeUnits": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "options": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "build": {
                                        "type": "string",
                                        "example": "latest"
                                    },
                                    "timeoutSecs": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 300
                                    },
                                    "memoryMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1024
                                    },
                                    "diskMbytes": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 2048
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "buildId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultKeyValueStoreId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultDatasetId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "defaultRequestQueueId": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "buildNumber": {
                                "type": "string",
                                "example": "1.0.0"
                            },
                            "containerUrl": {
                                "type": "string"
                            },
                            "usage": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 1
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            },
                            "usageTotalUsd": {
                                "type": "number",
                                "example": 0.00005
                            },
                            "usageUsd": {
                                "type": "object",
                                "properties": {
                                    "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATASET_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "number",
                                        "example": 0.00005
                                    },
                                    "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    },
                                    "PROXY_SERPS": {
                                        "type": "integer",
                                        "example": 0
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```