According to Statistics Canada, municipalities issued $7.2 billion worth of building permits in December, down 6.6 percent from November. Lower construction intentions were recorded for all components, led by commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings.
In the non-residential sector, the value of building permits fell for the second time in six months, down 11.5 percent to $2.3 billion in December, led by lower construction intentions for commercial buildings. The value of residential building permits was down 4.1 percent to $4.9 billion in December. The decrease mainly stemmed from lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings.
The value of commercial building permits fell 14.2 percent in December to $1.3 billion, accounting for almost three-quarters of the non-residential decrease. This was the second consecutive decline and was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions for retail and wholesale outlets, and warehouses.
In the institutional component, municipalities issued $626 million worth of building permits in December, down 6.9 percent from the previous month. Lower construction intentions for educational facilities and medical buildings contributed the most to the decline.
The value of industrial permits fell 9.3 percent to $366 million in December, following two consecutive monthly increases. The decline stemmed from lower construction intentions for manufacturing structures and primary industry buildings.
For full-year results, the value of building permits totaled $84.5 billion in 2016, down 0.8 percent from the previous year. This was the fifth consecutive year that construction intentions have been over $80 billion. Lower construction intentions were reported in the non-residential sector, while the residential sector posted a record high.