Building permits see continued decline in August: Statistics Canada

Building permits continued their downward trend in August, falling 5.9 per cent annually, according to Statistics Canada.

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Building permits continued their downward trend in August, falling 5.9 per cent annually, according to Statistics Canada.

The total value of building permits dropped by $139.2 million from the previous month, reaching $11.6 billion, a 1.2 per cent decrease.

Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia saw the largest declines in August, while Quebec experienced a modest gain.

“On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of building permits issued in August decreased 1.5 per cent from the previous month and was down 5.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis,” reads the Statistics Canada report.

“Residential construction intentions decreased $173.8 million (-2.4 per cent) to $7.0 billion in August. The decline was primarily attributable to Ontario (-$432.8 million) and Alberta (-$311.1 million), while British Columbia (+$331.4 million) and Quebec (+$155.5 million) tempered the losses.”

Single-family home permits fell by $112.3 million, mainly due to Ontario and Alberta, with Quebec and Manitoba helping to mitigate the decline.

Multi-family construction permits saw a similar trend, led by decreases in Ontario and Alberta. However, increases in British Columbia, predominantly in the Vancouver census metropolitan area, and Quebec helped offset the shortfalls in other provinces.

In August, permits were authorized for 20,500 multi-family dwellings and 4,100 single-family dwellings, a 0.9 per cent decrease from July.

Meanwhile, non-residential building permits saw a slight increase of 0.8 per cent in August.

“The institutional component rose $211.3 million in August, led by the increase in Ontario (+$235.3 million), which was propelled by hospital construction intentions in the Toronto CMA. British Columbia followed, recording an increase of $78.2 million, led by permit values for government buildings in the Vancouver CMA,” Statistics Canada stated.

“Nova Scotia (-$96.4 million) moderated the increase after construction intentions for long-term care facilities led to the province’s sharp rise in July.”

However, the commercial sector of building permits saw a $134.0 million decrease in August, led by Ontario, with British Columbia helping to mitigate the loss.