According to Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued $7.9 billion worth of building permits in July, down 3.5 percent from June and the first decrease since March 2017. Lower construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings were mainly responsible for the national decline.
The total value of permits was down in seven provinces in July, led by lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings in Ontario.
Canadian municipalities issued $5.0 billion worth of residential building permits in July, down 2.2 percent from June and the first decline since April 2017. Lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings more than offset a moderate gain in the single-family component.
Construction intentions for multi-family dwellings fell 7.4 percent in July to $2.5 billion, the first decline since March 2017. Conversely, single-family dwelling construction intentions rose 3.6 percent in July to $2.5 billion, largely attributable to gains in five provinces, led by Ontario. The increase followed an 11.7 percent drop in June.
In July, Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 13,830 multi-family units (down 4.2 percent from June) and 5,754 single units (up 4.6 percent from June).
The value of building permits issued for non-residential structures fell 5.7 percent in July to $2.9 billion, the first decrease since February 2017. The decline was largely attributable to lower construction intentions for commercial buildings.
The commercial component fell 14.7 percent in July to $1.5 billion, following two consecutive monthly increases (+15.6 percent in May and +13.7 percent in June). The decline was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions for office buildings.
The value of building permits issued for industrial structures fell 4.0 percent to $558.0 million in July, following a 7.8 percent gain in June. The decline primarily stemmed from lower construction intentions for maintenance buildings and transportation terminals.
In contrast, the value of permits for institutional structures rose 11.9 percent, to $903.4 million, the second consecutive monthly increase and the highest value since October 2015. The gain was mainly due to higher construction intentions for hospitals.