Ottawa, ON — The total value of building permits in Canada decreased 9.3 per cent to $11.7 billion in March 2022. The decrease was mainly due to the non-residential sector.
However, despite the monthly decline, the total value of building permits in the first quarter of 2022 increased 5.3 per cent to $34.9 billion, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, reports Statistics Canada.
Despite seeing a decline in March, the overall total value of building permits in the first quarter of 2022 increased 5.3 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021, to $34.9 billion.Residential
Overall, for the first quarter of 2022, the residential building permits sector saw a 1.0 per cent decline. Despite this, in March, residential building permits increased 4.7 per cent to $7.9 billion nationally.
Construction intentions for single-family homes were up 3.3 per cent, reaching the highest value since March 2021. Ontario recorded the largest gain, up 12.0%. In addition, the value of multi-family building permits rose 6.0 per cent.
Non-residential
In March, the total value of non-residential sector permits fell 29.5 per cent. Statistics Canada reports that this was primarily due to the institutional component (down 58.5 per cent) returning to more normal levels after two large hospital permits were issued in February.
Commercial building intentions also saw a decline in March, down 7.2 per cent. The only increase was seen in the industrial construction sector, up 2.8 per cent.
Despite recording declines for the month, the non-residential sector jumped 18.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 to a record high of $12.5 billion.