Value of Canadian Building Permits Soars 22.1% in July

On Thursday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that the total value of building permits in Canada soared 22.1% month-over-month to $12.4 billion (CAD) in July. This follows two consecutive months of declines.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits in July was up 22.9% compared with the previous month, while it rose 3.4% year-over-year.

Residential

The total monthly value of residential permits increased 16.7% to $7.6 billion in July. The gains were driven by the multi-unit component, up 29.3%, or $1.1 billion. Single-family construction intentions saw a modest decline, down 1.9%, or $50.3 million.

The value of permits issued in the multi-unit component, up 29.3%, increased substantially to $5.0 billion—its second-highest monthly level on record after an all-time high of $5.9 billion in April.

Across Canada, 20,700 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,100 new single-family dwellings were authorized in July. From August 2023 to July 2024, a total of 266,200 new units were authorized.

Nonresidential

The total value of nonresidential sector permits rose 31.8% to $4.8 billion in July. Overall growth in this sector was seen across the commercial sector, up 18.4% to $2.2 billion; industrial sector, up 98.6% to $1.3 billion; and the institutional sector, up 14.8% to $1.3 billion.