Canadian Building Permits Increase in February

On Wednesday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the total value of building permits in Canada increased 9.3% month-over-month to $11.8 billion (CAD) in February. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits was up 8.5%.

Residential

The monthly value of residential permits increased 7.4% to $7.1 billion in February. Intentions for residential construction growth were divided between single-family dwellings—up 9.6%, or $248.2 million—and multi-family dwellings—up 6.0%, or $239.3 million.

Across Canada, 16,400 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,600 new single-family dwellings were authorized in February. Over the last 12 months, a total of 253,400 new units have been authorized.

Nonresidential

The monthly value of nonresidential permits increased 12.3% to $4.7 billion in February.

Growth in nonresidential construction was mostly attributed to the industrial component, which increased 57.8% to $1.3 billion in February. Permits for large industrial construction projects were issued across the country.

Monthly growth in the nonresidential sector was also supported by the increase in the institutional component—up 18.2% to $1.3 billion.