According to Statistics Canada, the total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities decreased 7.3 percent to $8.6 billion in February, driven by the residential component. Declines were reported in five provinces, with the largest decrease reported in British Columbia (-39.2 percent to $1.3 billion). Meanwhile, Alberta reported the fourth consecutive monthly growth, up 4.2 percent to $1.1 billion.
The total value of residential permits decreased 7.3 percent to $5.3 billion, mostly due to a significant decline in permits for multi-family dwellings. Permits for multi-family dwellings were down 18.1 percent to $2.8 billion, with the largest decrease originating in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Vancouver (-$841 million). The decrease in Vancouver was mainly due to an increased number of permits being issued in January to preempt an increase in local development fees. Excluding the CMA of Vancouver, the value of permits for multi-family dwellings rose 10.3 percent on a national level in February.
The total value of permits for single-family dwellings increased 8.3 percent to $2.6 billion. These gains were driven by housing developments in Ontario (+$205 million), bringing the value of permits in the province to its highest level since December 2017.
In February, the value of non-residential permits was down 7.3 percent to $3.2 billion. This decrease was largely due to declines in the value of industrial permits (-25.3 percent to $514 million), mainly in the province of Quebec.
The value of institutional permits declined 4.5 percent to $705 million. This was largely due to decreases in Alberta (-$74 million) and British Columbia (-$62 million), following strong gains in those provinces in January.
Total value of commercial permits was down 2.2 percent to $2.0 billion, with declines reported in six provinces.