Ottawa, ON — The month of August saw the total value of building permits across Canada fall by $139.2 million (down 1.2 per cent) to $11.6 billion, reports Statistics Canada. Declines were largely driven by the residential sector, while the non-residential sector grew slightly.
Building permits in the residential sector fell by $173.8 million (down by 2.4 per cent) to $7 billion in August. Ontario (down $432.8 million) and Alberta (down $311.1 million) contributed largely to the decline.
Within the sector, single-family building permits fell by $112.3 million, and multi-family construction intentions fell by $61.5 million. Losses seen in the single-family component were driven by Ontario (down $131.0 million) and Alberta (down $59.6 million).
Losses seen in the multi-family component were also led by Ontario (down $301.8 million) and Alberta (down $251.5 million).
However, the value of non-residential building permits grew $33.6 million (0.8 per cent) to $4.6 billion in August. Gains were seen in the institutional component (up $211.3 million), while the industrial and commercial components both recorded losses, down $42.6 million and $134.0 million, respectively.
Ontario led the gains in the institutional component, up $235.3 million, while the decreases in the industrial and commercial components were driven by Ontario, down $57.6 million and $134.0 million, respectively.