The value of Canadian building permits issued by municipalities rose 15.5 percent to C$7.4 billion (US$5.6 billion) in February, following a 9.5 percent decline the previous month, according to Statistics Canada. Higher construction intentions for commercial buildings in Alberta, single-family dwellings in Ontario and institutional structures in Quebec explained the advance.
Construction intentions in the residential sector increased 5 percent to C$4.2 billion (US$3.2billion) in February, following a 12.7 percent decrease the previous month. Advances were registered in five provinces, led by Ontario, with Alberta a distant second. British Columbia reported the largest decline in the residential sector.
Municipalities issued C$3.2 billion (US$2.4 billion) worth of non-residential building permits in February, up 33.1 percent from January. Gains were reported in every province except New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Alberta and Quebec posted the largest increases in non-residential building construction projects. Higher construction intentions for commercial and institutional buildings largely explained the gain.
The value of permits for single-family dwellings increased 9.6 percent to C$2.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) in February, ending a string of six consecutive monthly declines. Gains were reported in five provinces, led by Ontario, up 34.2 percent from January. Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia posted the largest decreases.
Construction intentions for multi-family dwellings edged down 0.6 percent to C$1.8 billion (US$1.4 billion) in February, a second consecutive monthly decline. Decreases were posted in five provinces, led by British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. The largest gains were recorded in Alberta and Quebec.
Municipalities approved the construction of 16,005 new dwellings in February, up 2.2 percent from the previous month. The advance resulted from single-family dwellings, which were up 10.5 percent to 6,105 new units. Multi-family dwellings were down 2.4 percent to 9,900 new units.
Construction intentions for commercial structures were up 56.6 percent to C$2 billion (US$1.5 billion) in February, their highest value since May 2007. Higher construction intentions for recreational facilities, retail complexes and office buildings contributed the most to the advance at the national level. Gains were posted in seven provinces, led by Alberta, with Ontario a distant second.
The value of permits for institutional buildings was up 18.7 percent to C$680 million (US$516.5 million) in February, ending a string of three consecutive monthly declines. The increase resulted mostly from higher construction intentions for nursing and retirement homes, educational institutions, and other government buildings. Gains were reported in four provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta. Ontario had the largest decline.
In the industrial component, the value of building permits declined 8.4 percent to C$483 million (US$366.9 million) in February, following a 32.2 percent advance the previous month. Lower construction intentions for utility and transportation-related buildings were responsible for much of the decrease. The decline in Alberta more than offset the advances posted in six provinces. The largest increases were reported in British Columbia and Manitoba.
The total value of building permits was up in seven provinces in February, with Alberta posting the largest advance, followed by Ontario and Quebec.
In Alberta, the value of building permits was up 47.7 percent to C$1.6 billion (US$1.2 billion) in February, following a 4.4 percent decline the previous month. Higher construction intentions for commercial buildings, institutional structures and multi-family dwellings were the reasons for the advance.
The value of building permits in Ontario was up 11.4 percent to C$2.8 billion (US$2.1 billion) in February, following a 10.8 percent decline in January. The advance was largely the result of higher construction intentions for single-family dwellings, which were up 34.2 percent to C$1.1 billion (US$0.8 billion), and commercial buildings, which increased 33.1 percent to C$617 million (US$468.6 million) in February.
In Quebec, the value of building permits was up 19.5 percent to C$1.2 billion (US$0.9 billion) in February, following an 11 percent decline the previous month. The gain was led by higher construction intentions for institutional structures, commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings. Single-family dwelling construction was the lone component to post a decline in the province.
In February, the total value of building permits was up in 18 of 34 census metropolitan areas. Edmonton recorded the largest gain, followed by Montréal and Toronto.
In Edmonton, construction intentions reached a record high of C$1.1 billion (US$0.8 billion) in February, more than double the value of January permits. Commercial building construction intentions led the increase, followed by institutional structures and multi-family dwellings.
In Montréal, the value of building permits increased 30.8 percent in February, the result of higher construction intentions in all components except single-family dwellings. Institutional buildings and multi-family dwellings reported the largest advances.
Construction intentions in Toronto were up 9.8 percent in February compared with one month earlier. Higher construction intentions were reported for every component except multi-family dwellings. The advance was led by single-family dwellings and commercial buildings.
