According to a report Friday from Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued building permits worth $6.6 billion in November, down 13.8 percent from October, following two consecutive monthly increases. Widespread declines in both the non-residential and residential sectors in several provinces were responsible for the decrease in November.
The value of building permits for the first 11 months of 2014 totaled $77.9 billion, up 4.8 percent from the same period in 2013. The gain was fuelled by increases in both the non-residential (+6.1 percent) and residential (+3.9 percent) sectors.
Following two consecutive monthly gains, construction intentions in the non-residential sector fell 29.2 percent to $2.2 billion in November.
The value of residential building permits fell 3.1 percent to $4.4 billion, as a result of lower construction intentions for both multiple and single-family dwellings.