Municipalities issued $7.1 billion worth of building permits in September, down 6.7 per cent from the previous month, said Statistics Canada Friday. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions for residential buildings and commercial structures in Ontario largely explained the decline.
Building Permits, Canada
The value of residential building permits declined 11.6 per cent from August to $4.2 billion in September. This marked the second consecutive monthly decline following two months of gains. Decreases were registered in five provinces. In September, the total value of building permits was down 10.7 per cent overall in census metropolitan areas.
Construction intentions for non-residential buildings rose 1.6 per cent to $2.9 billion in September, the first increase in three months.
The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings declined 20 per cent to $1.8 billion in September, marking the second decrease in three months. Much of this decline came from Ontario, which had posted a large increase the previous month. Manitoba and Alberta recorded the largest gains in the component.
The value of single-family dwelling permits was down 3.7 per cent to $2.3 billion in September. This was the second consecutive monthly decline. Decreases were posted in five provinces. Ontario accounted for most of the decline, with British Columbia and New Brunswick a distant second and third. The largest advances were in Quebec and Alberta.