Total Value of Canadian Building Permits Decline Across All Components in September

Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported today (11-3-22) that the total value of building permits in Canada declined 17.5% to $10.2 billion (CAD) in September, the largest monthly decline on record. StatCan says this was the first time all survey components posted monthly decreases since September 2019. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100) the total value of building permits dropped 17.8% to $6.0 billion.

Residential permits declined 15.6% to $7.0 billion nationally in September, with a similar decline—16.0%—in the number of units being built. The value of the multifamily component dropped 21.2%. Construction intentions for single-family home component declined 7.7%, with seven out of the ten provinces posting declines in September.

Non-Residential permits values decreased 21.5% to $3.2 billion in September. After three consecutive monthly gains, the institutional component fell 37.2% in the month. Commercial construction intentions declined 11.5%, with nine out of ten provinces posting declines. The value of building permits in the industrial component declined 23.4%, reaching the lowest level since late 2021.

Q3 Summary: In 22Q3, the total value of building permits decreased 6.3% to $33.7 billion after three consecutive quarters of gains. The residential sector declined 5.6% in Q3, with declines being posted in all provinces. The non-residential sector experienced a 7.9% decrease to $10.8 billion, with declines reported in all components.