Total Value of Canadian Building Permits Declined in August – Following a Strong July Increase

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Friday (10-11-24), that the total value of building permits in Canada decreased by 7.0% or $858.1 million to $11.5 billion in August. This following a strong July during which construction intentions rose 20.8%. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits decreased 7.6% in August.

Residential 

Residential building permits fell by 5.2% or $387.2 million to $7.1 billion in August, driven by the multi-unit component declining $538.2 million, which was offset by the single-family component which posted a $151.0 million gain.

Across Canada, 18,500 new multi-family dwellings and 4,700 new single-family dwellings were authorized in August, representing a 4.1% decrease in the total number of units approved through permit issuance. StatsCan points out that despite a decrease in the total number of units authorized in the month, the 12-month cumulative total of units authorized from September 2023 to August 2024 grew 2.8% to 268,200, compared with 260,900 having been units authorized from September 2022 to August 2023.

Non-Residential 

The value of non-residential building permits decreased by 9.7% or $471.0 million to $4.4 billion in August, driven by declines in institutional construction intentions which fell $382.2 million. Both commercial construction intentions, down $46.2 million and industrial construction intentions down $42.6 million contributed to the decline in the non-residential sector.

Despite the monthly decline in August, the industrial component was the fourth-highest value in the series and experienced a year-over-year growth of 49.0%, a second consecutive year-over-year increases.