Building permit values drop in April, remain near record highs
The total value of building permits issued in April dipped slightly compared with March, but nonetheless remains in record territory.
Statistics Canada reports that building permit values dropped 0.5 percent to $11.1 billion for the month. It says the slight pullback was mainly due to declines in the residential sector in British Columbia and Quebec, which outweighed national gains in the non-residential sector.
In the residential sector, the value of building permits fell 6.7 percent to $7.7 billion—the second-highest value on record.
Within the sector, the value of permits for multi-family dwellings dropped 6.5 percent to $4.1 billion. Gains in Ontario and Alberta were not enough to offset decreases in British Columbia and Quebec, where several large permits had been issued during the previous month.
Meanwhile, eight provinces reported declines in the value of permits issued for single-family dwellings, with the national total down 7.0 percent to $3.6 billion, mainly as a result of fewer new projects in Ontario and Quebec.
The value of building permits in the non-residential sector climbed 17.4 percent to $3.4 billion on the strength of gains in the commercial and institutional components.
Commercial permits surged 28.7 percent to $1.9 billion. A $97-million permit for the Sick Kids patient support centre in the city of Toronto and an $80 million permit for the Centennial Community and Aquatics Centre in the city of New Westminster were among several large permits that were issued in the month. In contrast, the largest commercial permit issued nationwide in March was valued at $43 million and was for a warehouse in the city of Pickering.
The value of institutional permits increased 23.1 percent to $910 million, led by Quebec (+135.7 percent), which rebounded from a 53.6 percent drop the previous month.
Finally, the value of industrial permits fell 13.2 percent in April to $592 million. Ontario (-36.5 percent) accounted for most of the decrease, as fewer permits for large projects were issued in the province compared with the previous month.