Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in October, down 0.2 percent from September, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The decrease was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions for industrial and institutional buildings.
In the non-residential sector, $2.9 billion worth of permits were issued in October, down 7 percent from the previous month. In the industrial component, the value of building permits fell 29.9 percent to $439 million, the third consecutive monthly decrease. Declines were reported in nine provinces, with Manitoba the lone province to post an increase.
The value of institutional building permits was down 8.7 percent in October to $733 million, after posting an increase of 16.7 percent the previous month. Lower construction intentions for hospitals, post-secondary institutions, and other government buildings were responsible for much of the decrease.
In the commercial component, $1.7 billion worth of building permits were issued in October, up 2.2 percent from the previous month. The gain was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions for office and retail complexes.