Total Value of Canadian Building Permits Issued in February Sets New Record

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that the total value of building permits issued in February broke the $10-billion mark for the first time, as a jump in the non-residential sector more than offset the decline in the residential sector. The non-residential sector jumped 14.2% to $3.3 billion in February with all three components posting gains. Despite the large jump in this sector, the level remained about -13% below the peak reached in April 2019. Institutional permits saw their largest value increase since June 2020, as the total for this component climbed $226 million to $1.0 billion. The commercial component increased 11.4% to $1.7 billion — the highest level since September 2020. Residential construction intentions decreased 2.9% to $6.8 billion in February, following a record month in January. Building permits for single-family homes dipped 1.0% to $3.5 billion, although they remained at historically high levels. From January 2018 to the end of 2020, the value for multi-family dwellings had exceeded that of single-family homes. However, shortly after the start of the pandemic, the gap between these two components steadily closed. By January 2021, the value of permits for single-family homes had once again surpassed that of multi-family dwellings and continued to do so in February.