According to Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued $7.5 billion worth of building permits in August, down 5.5 percent from July. This was the second consecutive monthly decrease. Despite these declines, the year-to-date value of building permits (January to August) is up 8.7 percent compared with the same period in 2016, reflecting a $3.1 billion increase in multi-family dwellings.
Total construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Canada declined in August, down 6.0 percent from July. However, the sector has been on an upward trend since 2009.
This upward trend has gradually closed the gap between the value of multi-family dwellings and single-family dwellings. June 2017 was the first month where the value of multi-family dwelling permits for Canada surpassed the value of single-family dwelling permits. Overall, the multi-family component was $294.3 million higher than the single-family component in June, and $8.1 million higher in July.