Fredericton is leading the way in residential development in New Brunswick. The city issued building permits for construction projects with a total value of $359.4 million in 2025. This is the fifth year in a row Fredericton has surpassed the previous year’s record.
The capital city led the province by issuing building permits for 1,564 new housing units in 2025, smashing the previous record of 938 units set in 2022. Data from Statistics Canada indicates that Fredericton recorded the second highest percentage increase in housing development in Canada last year. The total value of all residential construction in 2025 was $296.9 million.
Record development activity in 2025 was almost exclusively driven by the private sector. Fredericton recorded a strong year for commercial construction with investment 25 per cent above the ten-year average. Only 3 per cent of construction value was government or institutional investment.
“The City’s efforts to drive the construction of new housing have been successful. I am very pleased to see the local development community respond to the challenge with record breaking housing starts. We need more homes to accommodate more people,” said Councillor Jason LeJeune, Chair of the City’s Economic Prosperity and Growth Planning Committee.
In the past year, Fredericton saw employment rise by 1,900 jobs and the city welcomed 1,629 new residents. The city’s population is estimated to now be approximately 79,000. To put this in context, the city now has 30,000 more residents than it did in the year 2000.
“Fredericton’s growth is also the result of our economic success. More jobs drive the need for more housing. We are seeing strong levels of new commercial development providing employment opportunities for our residents, but we need to see significantly more government and institutional investment in the healthcare and education spaces to meet the needs of a growing community,” continued LeJeune.
Fredericton has carefully planned for this growth, and the city is successfully implementing its Growth Strategy and Municipal Plan to maintain and enhance the quality of life offered by this community. Record breaking housing activity in the past few years has started to positively impact housing availability. Fredericton’s vacancy rates increased from 0.9 per cent in 2024 to 2.5 per cent in 2025. More housing supply is making it easier for Frederictonians to find the home that is right for them.
Work continues to address affordability challenges, and the city hopes that the provincial and federal governments will continue to make significant investments in housing programs and municipal infrastructure that result in the construction of more affordable housing.
Total housing construction is at the level determined to be necessary in the city’s Housing Needs Assessment (HNA) to meet current and future needs. Fredericton is making progress increasing the supply of affordable housing. Building permits for 112 affordable housing units were issued, of the 112 units, 91 are considered deeply affordable and 21 are below market.
“The City and the private sector are delivering. Continued support from the senior levels of government targeted at Fredericton’s unique needs will be required over the long-term to fully address housing, infrastructure, and public services challenges,” added LeJeune.
The results of building permit activity in Fredericton throughout 2025 were presented to City Council at a recent Economic Prosperity and Growth Planning committee meeting.
More information about 2025 development activity in Fredericton is available on the city’s website.