New construction and development overall continued to pick up across the region through 2025.
That trend was reflected in the year-end building permit statistics of the MSTW (Morden Stanley Thompson and Winkler) Planning District.
Some of the numbers varied, but it overall looked positive for the region, suggested MSTW general manager Glen Wieler.
“The big difference in Winkler was the number of permits were very similar but the value was down,” he noted.
“We had a couple of big projects that carried over from 2024,” Wieler added citing the Winkler arena project as well as the wastewater plant. “Both were major projects going on in 2024 that are getting done now, so that’s where the difference is now.”
“Other than that, the number of permits across the board is quite consistent actually, considering the volume of work.”
A key indicator is always the single-family housing starts, and they were up in both Winkler and Morden.
“That’s definitely on the rise, so that’s good to see,” said Wieler.
“In Morden, they’re still working on solutions for the wastewater … and Winkler looks like they’re waiting on developers to open up more lots for 2026. It always just takes time to get those projects completed before people start building houses. It’s just a huge cost and a lot of work to get it done.”
Here are some highlights from the key statistics for 2025:
WINKLER
Total building permits increased from 231 to 246.
The value of the development, however, decreased from over $171 million to just over $83 million.
New single family residential units were up from 29 to 58, and the value rose from $10.7 million to $22 million.
New multi-family developments decreased from 15 to 10 although the value rose slightly from $30.2 million to just under $32 million.
New commercial development dropped slightly from 15 to 12 while the value also went down from $5.2 million to $4 million.
New industrial development went from five to three, and the value dropped sharply from $52.1 million to $1.7 million.
MORDEN
Total building permits increased from 96 to 117.
The value of the development only dropped slightly from $37.6 million to $37.3 million.
New single family residential units almost doubled from 12 to 23 while the value also increased from $4.8 million to $9.4 million.
New commercial development dropped from eight to five although the value went up from $4.1 million to $6.1 million.
There was no new industrial development compared to the previous year when there were three permits with a value of $5.6 million.
STANLEY
Total building permits dropped slightly from 125 to 121.
The value of the development however jumped from $22.2 million to $36.8 million.
New single family residential units went up slightly from 21 to 23, while the value rose from $9.3 million to $12.3 million.
New commercial development went down from 13 to 11 while the value went up however from $1.3 million to $8.2 million.
There was just one new industrial development with a value of $700,000 compared to zero the previous year.
THOMPSON
The RM of Thompson had 18 permits last year compared to 12 the year before while the value rose from $2.2 million to $2.9 million.
Overall, Wieler said it was encouraging to see development picking up across the region.
“People are still moving here. They’re still buying houses and building … so it’s good to see all those things happening.
“There’s still lots of multi-family development going on in the region,” he added. “We’ve seen more and more of those coming up in the last five years plus … there’s still lots of people who want to move to the region, so that’s a good thing.”
