According to Statistics Canada, the monthly total seasonally adjusted value of building permits in Canada decreased 7.3 percent in December to $10.3 billion. Declines were posted in both the residential and the non-residential sectors.
The total value of residential permits declined 8.4 percent to $6.5 billion in December. Construction intentions in the single-family homes component decreased 3.9 percent while multi-family permit values fell 11.6 percent, with seven provinces posting declines. Quebec (-43.4 percent) contributed to much of the decline in the multi-family component following a strong November. Conversely, notable gains were posted in New Brunswick (+46.4 percent) and Saskatchewan (+36.9 percent) in December.
The total value of non-residential permits declined 5.3 percent to $3.8 billion in December. Decreases posted in Ontario more than offset gains posted in seven provinces.
Construction intentions in the industrial sector decreased 23.4 percent in December, following a record high in November.
In December, the value of commercial permits edged up 2.2 percent, with seven provinces posting increases. Alberta led the way with a variety of large permits in Calgary.
The total value of institutional building permits posted a modest growth month over month (+0.9 percent). Large losses in Ontario (-30.1 percent) were offset by notable gains in Quebec (+45.1 percent), Manitoba (+228.6 percent) and Saskatchewan (+333.8 percent). The superlative results in the latter two provinces were driven by building permits for new hospital construction.