According to Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued $8.2 billion in building permits in February (-2.6 percent), following a 5.2 percent gain in January. Single-family homes as well as the commercial and institutional components saw lower levels of construction intentions in February.
The value of permits for single-family dwellings decreased 1.6 percent (-$41.3 million) in February, largely due to Ontario where intentions fell 6.9 percent (-$84.2 million) compared with January. The census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Toronto (-13.6 percent or -$67.1 million) and Oshawa (-64.7 percent or -$65.7 million) posted the largest declines.
Municipalities issued $2.9 billion worth of building permits for non-residential structures in February, down 6.6 percent from January. The decline in the value of permits for the commercial and institutional components more than offset the increase in the industrial component.
The commercial component fell 8.7 percent to $1.5 billion in February, following an 8.3 percent increase in January. Eight provinces posted declines. British Columbia reported the largest decrease (-20.2 percent) following a strong January.
Following a 19.2 percent gain in January, the institutional component decreased 9.7 percent to $754.3 million in February, primarily stemming from lower construction intentions in Quebec, specifically in the CMA of Montréal. Leading up to this decline, multiple permits for educational structures pushed the January value for the CMA of Montréal to $158.6 million, the highest value since August 2016.
The value of building permits issued for industrial structures increased 4.8 percent to $575.0 million in February, following a 19.5 percent decline in January. Quebec posted the largest increase, followed distantly by Newfoundland and Labrador.