Ottawa, ON — Eight provinces reported decreases in the total value of building permits, which resulted in the total value in Canada decreasing four per cent to $9.8 billion in January, according to Statistics Canada.
The total value of residential building permits decreased 6.6 per cent to $6.1 billion in January with seven provinces posting decreases.
Multi-family homes continued to decline, down 8.3 per cent, thanks to steep declines in British Columbia, down 27.9 per cent. However, Manitoba posted a notable increase, up 106 per cent to $63.0 million.
Additionally, the total permit values for single-family homes decreased 4.4 per cent in January, with Quebec down 13.5 per cent to $74.6 million, contributing the most to the decline. Alberta, up 0.8 per cent and British Columbia, up 0.6 per cent, were the only provinces to post increases for this component.
Conversely, the non-residential sector saw a relatively stable January, up 0.7 per cent to $3.7 billion, thanks to gains in the commercial component off-setting losses in both the industrial and institutional components.
For the second consecutive month, commercial permit values increased 5.4 per cent, with Ontario leading the way, up 22.8 per cent.
However, the value of building permits in the industrial component decreased 3.9 per cent in January with six provinces posting declines. Additionally, construction intentions in the institutional sector decreased 5.9 per cent in January, with Quebec having the most significant decline (down 21.1 per cent).
British Columbia jumped up 43.8 per cent due to an $87 million permit for an educational building in Kelowna.