Municipalities issued building permits worth $7.5 billion in September, up 12.7 per cent from August, following a 27.3 per cent decrease the previous month, according to Statistics Canada Thursday. The increase in September resulted primarily from higher construction intentions for both non-residential and residential buildings in Ontario.
The value of non-residential building permits rose 23.9 per cent to $3.1 billion in September, the fifth increase in six months. Higher non-residential construction intentions were registered in six provinces, led by Ontario, followed by Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Canada Building Permits
In the residential sector, the value of permits rose 6.1 per cent to $4.4 billion in September, according to Statistics Canada. Gains were posted in seven provinces, led by Ontario and followed by Quebec and British Columbia.
In the commercial component, the value of permits increased 8.7 per cent to $1.7 billion in September, following a 12.8 per cent decrease in August. The advance came from higher construction intentions in a variety of commercial buildings, including office buildings, warehouses, service stations as well as hotels and restaurants. Gains in Ontario, Nova Scotia and British Columbia more than offset decreases in the remaining seven provinces.
Construction intentions for multi-family dwellings rose 10.8 per cent to $2 billion, after a 28 per cent decrease the previous month. In Ontario, higher construction intentions for row house, apartment and apartment-condominium projects were responsible for the gain. In Quebec and British Columbia, the growth in the value of permits for multi-family dwellings came mostly from apartment projects.
The value of building permits for single-family dwellings increased 2.5 per cent to $2.4 billion in September. This followed a 2.3 per cent decline the previous month.
Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 18,199 new dwellings in September, up 9.4 per cdent from August. This increase was mostly attributable to multi-family dwellings, which rose 12.9 per cent to 11,814 units. The number of single-family dwellings increased 3.4 per cent to 6,385 units.