Value of Canadian Building Permits Falls for Second Consecutive Month in November

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the total value of building permits issued in Canada decreased 5.9%, or $739.5 million (CAD), to $11.7 billion in November. This marks the second consecutive monthly decline.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits issued in November declined 5.8% but were up 2.1% year-over-year.

Residential Permits

The total value of residential building permits decreased 7.5% ($588.1 million) to $7.2 billion in November. Multi-unit construction intentions accounted for most of the decline, falling $522.3 million, while the single-family component dropped $65.8 million.

Nationwide, 17,300 multifamily dwellings and 4,700 single-family dwellings were authorized in November, reflecting a 15.0% monthly decrease in the total number of units approved. Despite this decline, the 12-month total of units authorized from December 2023 to November 2024 increased 2.4%, rising to 273,300 compared to 267,000 during the same period the previous year.

Nonresidential Permits

Nonresidential construction intentions decreased 3.2% ($151.4 million) to $4.5 billion in November.

The industrial sector saw a decline of $238.6 million, which was partially offset by a $60.9 million gain in the institutional sector and a $26.3 million increase in the commercial sector.