The total value of building permits rose by 13.5% in January, thanks to strong performances in both the residential and non-residential sectors.

Statistics Canada reports that January’s increase – to $10.8 billion – follows a drop of 11.5% in December.

The total monthly value of residential permits rose by 12.6% to $6.5 billion in January.

Gains in the residential sector in January were led by a strong rebound in multi-unit construction intentions (+35.1% to $4.0 billion), with Ontario (+29.1% to $1.4 billion) leading the increase. Strong volumes of multi-unit permits were concentrated in the census metropolitan areas of Toronto, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and London.

Quebec (+61.6%; +$244.7 million) and British Columbia (+36.7%; +$281.9 million) also posted notable gains in multi-unit permit values.

The overall residential growth in January was tempered by a decline in the total value of single-family dwelling permits (-10.3% to $2.6 billion), with declines occurring in nine provinces.

Across Canada, 15,200 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,000 new single-family dwellings were authorized in January.

Meanwhile, the value of non-residential permits rose 14.8% to $4.2 billion for the month.

The growth was attributed to the commercial component, which increased 34.5% to $2.3 billion, the highest monthly level recorded since April 2023.

A $200-million permit for a new data centre in Lévis, Quebec, greatly contributed to the growth observed in January 2024.