Building permit values dropped by nearly 14% in June, with drops reported in 11 of the 13 provinces and territories, and in both the residential and non-residential sectors.

June’s drop follows on the heels of a loss of 12% in May. The latest contraction brings the value of permits issued for the month to $9.9 billion.

The total value of residential permits decreased 11.5% to $6.5 billion. Nine provinces and territories contributed to the decline, with losses concentrated in the multi-unit sector (-19.8%; -$937.1 million). Ontario (-25.7%; -$551.2 million) and British Columbia (-31.1%; -$222.6 million) drove the drop in multi-family dwelling permit values, with Ontario reporting the largest monthly decrease since December 2023.

Meanwhile, construction intentions in single-family homes moved up 4.0% to $2.6 billion in June 2024.

In June, municipalities authorized 20,400 dwelling units, bringing the total over the last 12 months to 263,400 units since July 2023.

The total value of non-residential sector permits, meanwhile, decreased 18.1% to $3.5 billion for the month. The industrial component dropped 42.6% (-$447.2 million) following a 21.3% increase in May. Meanwhile, monthly declines in the commercial component (-15.6%; -$331.1 million) outweighed modest gains in the institutional component (+1.0%; +$11.1 million) across Canada.

Ontario drives Q2 gains

The total value of building permits in the second quarter was $34.6 billion, up 2.1% from the first quarter ($33.9 billion). This represents a second consecutive quarterly increase and the fourth highest quarterly value in the series.

Construction intentions in the residential sector grew 6.9% to $22.2 billion. The growth was driven by Ontario's residential sector (+20.0%; +$1.5 billion), which posted significant gains in the multi-unit component (+35.0%; +$1.6 billion). This led to a national record of $14.4 billion in the second quarter, surpassing the previous all-time high of $13.2 billion recorded in the second quarter of 2023.

The growth in the multi-unit component in the second quarter of 2024 was driven by several significant multi-unit permits issued in the City of Toronto, the largest of which was issued in April and valued at approximately $900 million.

Excluding the Toronto census metropolitan area, the total value of multi-unit residential building permits in Canada declined 2.2% in the second quarter. However, growth in the multi-unit component was seen in seven provinces, notably Quebec (+12.2%; +$288.4 million), Manitoba (+61.6%; $150.2 million), Prince Edward Island (+441.7%; +$71.9 million) and Saskatchewan (+107.3%; $69.9 million).

Across Canada, 70,200 residential units were authorized in the second quarter, up 9.1% from the first quarter.

Overall growth in the value of building permits from the first to the second quarter was tempered by declines in non-residential construction intentions.

The non-residential sector decreased 5.6% in the second quarter, with all three components declining. The industrial component (-14.8%; -$437.5 million) had the largest decline, followed by the commercial (-3.0%; -$199.9 million) and institutional (-2.7%; -$95.5 million) components.