Building permits decline in Canada

Residential building permits slid 17.5% throughout Canada in January, according to Statistic Canada, the country’s official source for construction data. Measured in terms of building permit values, Canada experienced declines in both single and multi-family building permits issued to contractors and builders.

Ontario accounted for most of the national decrease with a 28% drop in January when compared to the previous year. But seven provinces also showed declines; only Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and British Columbia reported increases in residential building permits.

Canadian municipalities approved 11,065 new dwellings in January, down 19.4%. This was mainly due to a 33% decrease in multi-family units to 5,180. The number of single-family units approved slipped 1.9 percent to 5,885 units.

Non-residential building permits in Canada fared better in January. Plans for medical buildings in Ontario helped lift institutional building permits by 64.2% to $833 million. In the commercial sector, the value of permits increased 12.4% to $1.2 billion.

Overall, permit values declined 12.9% in Toronto and 19.7% in Montreal, counting all types of construction.