Canadian Building Permit Values Decline 3.2% in January

On Thursday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased 3.2%, or CA$425.8 million, to $12.8 billion in January.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits issued in January declined 2.5% but remained 13.4% higher year-over-year.

Residential

Residential construction intentions decreased $312.7 million, or 3.4%, to $8.8 billion in January after increasing $1.7 billion in December. Overall, the multi-family component declined $424.2 million, while the single-family component increased $111.4 million.

Across Canada, 23,500 multi-family dwellings and 4,900 single-family dwellings were authorized in January, down 3.7% from the previous month but up 37.4% year-over-year.

Nonresidential

The value of nonresidential building permits fell $113.0 million, or 2.7%, to $4.0 billion in January—the fourth consecutive monthly decline. The industrial sector led the decrease, down $285.0 million, followed by a $87.4 million decline in the institutional sector. These losses were partially offset by a $259.4 million increase in the commercial sector.