The value of Canadian building permits issued by municipalities declined 9.8 percent to C$6.4 billion (US$4.8 billion) in January, following a 7.7 percent increase the previous month. Lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in British Columbia and Ontario, and to a lesser extent, institutional buildings in Quebec, explained the decrease.
The value of residential building permits fell 12.5 percent to C$4 billion (US$3 billion) in January, following an 11.5 percent increase the previous month. Declines were posted in seven provinces, led by Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick recorded advances.
Municipalities issued C$2.4 billion (US$1.8 billion) worth of non-residential building permits in January, down 4.8 percent over the previous month. Declines were registered in seven provinces, led by Quebec and Saskatchewan. Gains were reported in Ontario, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and New Brunswick.
The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings fell 21 percent to C$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) in January, following a 27.7 percent gain in December. Declines were reported in six provinces, led by British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Nova Scotia reported the largest advance.
Construction intentions for single-family dwellings were down 4.1 percent to C$2.2 billion (US$1.6 billion) in January. The value was fairly stable at around C$2.3 billion (US$1.7 billion) for the last four months. Gains in five provinces were not sufficient to offset the notable decrease in Ontario.
Municipalities approved the construction of 15,704 new dwellings in January, down 13.2 percent from the previous month. The decline mainly resulted from multi-family dwellings, which fell 18.4 percent to 10,194 new units. Single-family dwellings were down 1.8 percent to 5,510 new units.
Nonresidential sector
Institutional construction intentions were down 20.2 percent to C$573 million (US$428.4 million) in January, the third consecutive monthly decline. Lower construction intentions for educational institutions, nursing homes and other government buildings accounted for the majority of the decline. Increases in five provinces were not sufficient to offset the notable decreases in Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan. British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and New Brunswick recorded the largest advances.
The value of commercial permits fell 7.1 percent to C$1.3 billion (US$971.9 million) in January. Lower construction intentions for retail complexes and storage buildings accounted for the majority of the decline. Decreases were reported in eight provinces, led by Ontario. The only provinces to post gains were Alberta and New Brunswick.
Industrial construction intentions were up 30.6 percent to C$521 million (US$389.5 million) in Januaryfollowing a decline of 12.9 percent in December. The advance at the national level was largely the result of higher construction intentions for maintenance and transportation-related buildings. Increases were posted in five provinces, most notably Ontario and Alberta.
Provinces
The total value of building permits was down in eight provinces in January. Ontario posted the largest decline, followed by British Columbia and Quebec.
The total value of building permits in Ontario was down 10.8 percent to C$2.5 billion (US$1.9 billion) in January,following an 8.8 percent increase in December. The decline was largely attributable to lower construction intentions for single-family homes, multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings.
In British Columbia, the value of building permits fell 11.1 percent to C$1.2 billion (US$897.2 million) in January, following an increase of 11.3 percent the previous month. Lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings offset gains reported in the other components.
In Quebec, the value of building permits declined 11.7 percent to C$973 million (US$727.4 million), after edging up for two consecutive months. Lower construction intentions were reported for every component other than single-family homes. The decrease was largely attributable to multi-family dwellings, institutional structures and commercial buildings.
By metropolitan areas
In January, the total value of building permits was down in 22 of the 34 census metropolitan areas, with Toronto registering the largest decrease, followed by Calgary and Vancouver.
In Toronto, the value of building permits was down 19.7 percent in January compared with one month earlier. Lower construction intentions were reported in every component other than industrial buildings. The value of permits for single-family homes led the decline, followed by multi-family dwellings and institutional structures.
In Calgary, the value of building permits declined 37.8 percent in January as a result of lower construction intentions in all components, excluding institutional structures. The largest decreases were reported for multi-family dwellings and industrial buildings.
Construction intentions in Vancouver were 13.8 percent lower in January compared with one month earlier. The decline in the value of building permits was largely due to multi-family dwellings.
