When the soil around a new building shifts or settles during the time the poured foundation of a building is curing, cracks can occur allowing moisture or water to leak into the basement.
The Quebec Building Code (QBC) have a standard for home foundation waterproofing but it only requires a foundation wall to have a simple coating of tar and a dimple membrane. Tar dries and when it does so water finds the weakest point and seeps through any cracks and into your basement.
City Wide Group uses a double membrane system to guarantee your basement stays dry.
The Exterior Waterproofing section provides more details.