According to Statistics Canada, the total value of building permits in Canada declined 1.5 percent in June to $11.9 billion, mainly due to the non-residential sector, which dropped 10.4 percent to $3.7 billion, after posting its second-highest monthly value.
The value of residential permits in June increased 3.1 percent to $8.2 billion nationally. The value of multi-family building permits increased 6.5 percent, with Ontario (+24.8 percent) leading the way, due to several apartment buildings being built in Mississauga. Overall, 15 out of the 20 highest value permits submitted across all sectors were for apartment or condo buildings.
Construction intentions in the single-family home component declined 0.6 percent due to large decreases in Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador. Gains in Ontario (+2.1 percent) helped to counter these losses.
The total value of non-residential sector permits fell 10.4 percent to $3.7 billion, largely due to decreases in British Columbia's commercial and institutional components.
Commercial permit values decreased 2.7 percent, with declines in eight provinces. In contrast, Ontario saw a notable increase (+37.5 percent), driven by a permit for a large office building in the city of Toronto.
Construction intentions in the institutional component fell 32.2 percent, following strong growth in May resulting from a large hospital permit in British Columbia.
Conversely, the value of industrial permits rose 0.6 percent. Notably, it shot up 206.0 percent in Saskatchewan, largely due to the construction of a new power plant in Moose Jaw.