According to Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in August, up 0.4 percent from July. Strength in the non-residential sector drove the increase, while the residential sector declined for the third consecutive month.
In the non-residential sector, $3.2 billion worth of permits were issued in August, up 8.8 percent from the previous month. Both the institutional (+25.8 percent) and commercial (+8.9 percent) components contributed to the gain, which was largely the result of the issuance of permits for a new hospital in Ontario and new office buildings in British Columbia.
Meanwhile, the value of industrial permits fell 5.9 percent in August to $677 million. This followed a 13.4 percent gain in July, as multiple permits were issued that month for transportation terminals and manufacturing structures in Ontario and Alberta.
Municipalities issued $5.0 billion worth of residential permits in August, down 4.4 percent from July and marking the third consecutive monthly decline for the sector. Five of the six provinces that posted decreases had lower intentions for both single and multi-family construction.
The value of permits for single-family dwellings was down 5.2 percent to $2.2 billion, maintaining the general downward trend that began in January 2018. While eight provinces posted decreases in the month, Ontario and British Columbia contributed the most to the decline.
In the multi-family dwelling component, the value of permits fell 3.8 percent to $2.7 billion. Despite the monthly decline, the year-to-date value was $3.5 billion higher than the same time last year. Multi-family dwellings have represented over 70 percent of the total units for six of eight months so far this year. There are no previous years on record where multi-units exceeded that level.