Canadian municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in February, edging down 0.9 per cent from the previous month, said Statistics Canada Thursday. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta were responsible for the decrease at the national level.
Canada Building Permits
The value of permits in the non-residential sector fell 5.4 per cent to $2.0 billion in February, marking the second decrease in three months, according to StatsCan. Quebec and Alberta accounted for much of the decline in non-residential building construction intentions. Ontario registered the biggest gain, followed by British Columbia.
In February, the value of residential building permits rose 1.5 per cent to $4.1 billion, following an 8.1 per cent decline in January. The increase stemmed from higher construction intentions in six provinces, led by Quebec, followed by British Columbia and Nova Scotia. Ontario saw the largest decline in the residential sector.
The value of multi-family dwelling permits increased 20.7 per cent to $1.8 billion in February, ending a string of four consecutive monthly declines. The advance was attributable to higher construction intentions in every province except Ontario. Quebec posted the largest advance, followed by British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
Construction intentions for single-family dwellings declined 9.6 per cent to $2.3 billion, following two consecutive monthly increases. The decrease came from lower construction intentions in every province except Nova Scotia, which posted a slight increase. Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario accounted for most of the decline.
Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 15,133 new dwellings in February, up 2.7 per cent from January. The increase was a result of a 9.4 per cent gain in the number of multi-family dwellings to 9,325 units. The number of single-family dwellings declined 6.6 per cent to 5,808 units.