Ottawa, ON — The total value of building permits issued in Canada increased by 10.3 per cent ($1.3 billion) to 13.5 billion in March. Statistics Canada reports that the increase was led by the non-residential sector, while the residential sector saw losses.
In the non-residential sector, the value of building permits grew by $1.5 billion to $5.5 billion in March. The increase was led by the institutional component (up $817.1 million), with gains also seen in the industrial (up $473.2 million) and commercial (up $238.0 million) components.
Gains in the institutional component were attributed to British Columbia, up $665.5 million. Ontario (up $510.8 million) and Quebec (up $113.6 million) led the way for the industrial component. In the commercial component, seven provinces and two territories contributed to the increase, up $238.0 million.
Meanwhile, residential construction intentions across Canada fell by 3.3 per cent ($270.6 million) to $8.0 billion in March. The national decline was led by the multi-family component, which recorded a $270.9 million loss. The single-family component remained at $2.7 billion.
Ontario (down $393.1 million) and Quebec (down $163.5 million) led the decline in the multi-family component in March. In the single-family component, a large decline in Alberta (down $65.9 million) was offset by increases in Ontario (up $33.2 million), Saskatchewan (up $22.9 million) and British Columbia (up $19.4 million).