According to Statistics Canada, the total national value of building permits increased 6.2 percent to $8.1 billion in June, to a level comparable to pre-COVID levels. Overall, seven provinces reported gains for the month.
The total value of residential permits was up 7.0 percent to $5.3 billion, with gains posted in six provinces. British Columbia posted its third largest value on record for residential permits in June, up 20.4 percent to $1.3 billion due to large projects such as the Oakridge Centre redevelopment.
The value of permits for single-family homes increased 6.6 percent to $2.1 billion, driven by gains in Quebec (+14.6 percent) and Ontario (+7.2 percent).
The value of permits issued for multi-family dwellings rose for the third consecutive month, up 7.3 percent to $3.2 billion, largely due to major projects in the census metropolitan area of Vancouver (+43.8 percent).
Institutional permits were up 47.7 percent to $841 million, driven by gains in British Columbia (+162.8 percent) and Ontario (+60.3 percent).
In contrast, commercial (-9.1 percent to $1.3 billion) and industrial (-4.0 percent to $591 million) permits were down in June, following strong gains for both components in May.