Canadian municipalities issued building permits worth C$9.2 billion (US$8.4 billion) in July, up 11.8 percent from June, according to Statistics Canada. The increase in July was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions for multifamily dwellings in Ontario and British Columbia as well as institutional buildings in Manitoba.
The value of residential building permits increased for the fifth consecutive month, up 18 percent to C$5 billion (US$4.6 billion) in July. Gains were posted in seven provinces, led by Ontario and British Columbia, with Alberta a distant third. The largest decline occurred in Nova Scotia.
In the nonresidential sector, the value of permits rose 5.2 percent to C$4.2 billion (US$3.8 billion). This represented a fourth consecutive monthly increase. Gains were recorded in six provinces, with Manitoba accounting for most of the increase. In contrast, the largest decline occurred in Alberta, followed by Quebec. Both provinces posted large gains the previous month.
Residential
The value of building permits for multifamily dwellings rose 43.4 percent to C$2.5 billion (US$2.3 billion) in July, after a 4.5 percent decrease the previous month. This gain was primarily the result of higher construction intentions for apartment and apartment-condominium projects in Ontario, British Columbia and, to a lesser extent, Alberta.
Canadian municipalities issued permits for single-family dwellings worth C$2.4 billion (US$2.2 billion) in July, a slight decrease of 0.5 percent. The value of single-family dwelling permits declined in five provinces, with the largest decrease occurring in Ontario. Alberta saw the largest increase, followed by Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.
At the national level, municipalities approved permits for the construction of 20,511 new dwellings, up 21.4 percent from June. This increase was attributable to multifamily dwellings, which rose 35.2 percent to 14,050 units. In contrast, the number of single-family dwellings edged down 0.6 percent to 6,461 units.
Nonresidential
The value of permits for institutional buildings rose 28.4 percent to C$1.8 billion (US$1.6 billion) in July, following a large increase the previous month. This gain was primarily the result of higher construction intentions for medical facilities in Quebec and Manitoba, as well as educational institutions in Alberta.
In the commercial component, the value of building permits rose 2.6 percent to C$1.8 billion (US$1.6 billion) in July. Gains were reported in five provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec. Higher construction intentions for warehouses and, to a lesser degree, retail and wholesale outlets were mainly responsible for the increase at the national level.
Construction intentions for industrial buildings fell 32.6 percent to C$511 million (US$465.7 million) in July. Lower construction intentions for communication buildings in Quebec and utility buildings in Ontario and Alberta accounted for most of the decline.
By Geography
The value of permits increased in five provinces, with the largest gain in Ontario, followed by British Columbia and Manitoba. Most of the gain in Ontario and British Columbia was attributable to multifamily dwellings, while the increase in Manitoba came from the institutional component and, to a lesser extent, the commercial component.
Quebec posted the largest decline, followed by Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. The decrease in Quebec was mainly because of a 65.3 percent decline in construction intentions for industrial buildings. Newfoundland and Labrador's decrease was attributable to lower construction intentions for commercial buildings, while in Nova Scotia, lower construction intentions for multifamily dwellings were responsible for the decrease.
In July, the value of building permits was up in 21 of the 34 census metropolitan areas, led by Toronto, Vancouver and Hamilton.
The gain in Toronto was driven by higher construction intentions for multifamily dwellings and, to a lesser extent, institutional buildings. The increase in Vancouver came mainly from multifamily dwellings, while in Hamilton, institutional buildings and multifamily dwellings were responsible for the increase.
The largest declines occurred in Calgary, followed by Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo. In Calgary, the decrease was mostly attributable to commercial buildings, while in Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo, the decrease was attributable to institutional buildings.
