August 8, 2018

Canadian building permits down in June

In June, Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits, down 2.3% from the previous month. The decline was the result of lower construction intentions for residential buildings, following a strong May.

Residential sector: Multi-family dwellings account for majority of the decline

In the residential sector, municipalities issued $5.2 billion worth of building permits in June, down 5.7% from May. New Brunswick was the only province to post an increase.

The value of multi-family dwelling permits dropped 8.0% to $2.8 billion in June. This followed a record high of $3.1 billion the previous month. The decrease was led by Alberta, where municipalities issued permits for 865 fewer units in June than they did in May. British Columbia (+2.1%) was the only province to register an increase.

The value of permits in the single-family dwelling component was down 2.9% to $2.4 billion in June. Six provinces posted declines, with Ontario (-$37 million) accounting for slightly over half of the drop.

Municipalities approved the construction of 19,111 new dwellings in June, down 10.5% from May. The decline was mainly attributable to a 14.3% drop in multi-family dwellings, to 13,667 new units. The number of new single-family dwellings increased 0.8% to 5,444 new units.

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Non-residential sector: All components register gains

The value of building permits in the non-residential sector rose 4.6% in June to $2.9 billion. Increases in Alberta and Ontario more than offset the declines in six provinces.

In the institutional component, the total value of permits was up 16.3%, to $609 million. This gain followed four consecutive monthly declines. Eight provinces registered increases, led by Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The value of industrial permits rose 5.3% to $603 million, a third consecutive monthly increase. The gain in June was largely the result of a few high-value permits issued for agricultural and manufacturing buildings in Ontario.

Meanwhile, in the commercial component, municipalities issued $1.7 billion worth of permits, up 0.8% from May. The increase was the result of higher construction intentions in Alberta (+$94 million), which offset the small declines reported in every other province except Prince Edward Island.

Keep reading on the Statistics Canada website

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