Canada. Value of Building Permits Up

The value of building permits totalled $5.2 billion in June, up 1.0% from May. The increase was attributable to gains in both residential and non-residential construction intentions.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits rose 1.5% to $2.5 billion, following an increase of nearly 20% in May.

The value of permits increased for the fourth consecutive month in the residential sector. Construction intentions climbed 0.5% to $2.7 billion in June. Half of the provinces, led by Quebec, posted gains.

The Building Permits Survey covers 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the population. It provides an early indication of building activity. The communities representing the other 5% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total.

The value of planned construction activities shown in this release excludes engineering projects (e.g., waterworks, sewers or culverts) and land.

For the purpose of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: Gatineau part and Ottawa part.

The national increase was due to advances in seven provinces. The largest gains were in British Columbia and Quebec, as a result of increases in every component of the residential sector and the non-residential sector.

Since the beginning of 2009, the value of permits has fallen by 26.2% compared with the same period a year earlier. The institutional component of the non-residential sector was the only component that posted a gain compared with the first six months of 2008.

Non-residential sector: The commercial component is up

In the commercial component, the value of permits rose 10.6% to $1.3 billion. This change was attributable to an increase in hotel and laboratory construction intentions in Ontario. In contrast, Saskatchewan and British Columbia experienced the largest declines in this component.

The value of institutional building permits fell 6.2% to $902 million in June, after increasing 55.6% in May. Increases in seven provinces were not enough to offset the decrease in construction intentions for medical buildings in Alberta.

In the industrial component, the value of permits dropped 7.1% to $332 million, ending its string of three consecutive monthly gains. Alberta and Quebec were responsible for most of June's decrease.

Residential sector: Higher intentions for single-family permits
The increase in building permits for single-family dwellings canceled out the decline (in dollar terms) in permits for multi-family dwellings. Municipalities issued $1.7 billion worth of building permits for single-family dwellings in June, 3.6% more than in May. Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia posted the largest gains. Only Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan had decreases.

The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings fell 4.1% to $1.0 billion, following a 40.1% increase in May. The decline in June was mostly attributable to lower constructions intentions in Ontario.

Municipalities approved the construction of 12,693 new dwellings in June, down 4.3%. The decrease was primarily due to an 11.1% decline in the number of multi-family dwellings, which totalled 7,064 units in June. The number of single-family dwellings approved rose 5.9% to 5,629 units.

Increases seen in seven provinces

The value of building permits was up in every province except Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.

The sharpest increases were recorded in British Columbia (+30.3%, for a total value of $632 million), which had gains in every component except commercial and industrial building permits. Quebec came next (+11.0%, for a total value of $1.2 billion), as a result of increases in every component except industrial permits.

Alberta and Saskatchewan posted the largest declines, largely due to lower construction intentions in the non-residential sector.

Metropolitan areas: Increase in Montréal and decline in Calgary
The total value of permits was down in 19 of the 34 census metropolitan areas.

The largest advances were observed in Montréal and Hamilton, as a result of gains in every component of the residential and non-residential sectors. Kelowna followed with an increase in the value of institutional building permits.

In contrast, the total value of permits in Calgary declined in June, following an increase in the value of institutional building permits in May.

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