According to Statistics Canada, the total monthly value of building permits in Canada advanced 11.3 percent in March to $11.8 billion, led by sharply increasing monthly non-residential growth (+32.0 percent).
The total monthly value of non-residential permits sharply increased 32.0 percent to a record-high $5.2 billion, with 10 individual non-residential projects valued at over $100 million each.
The largest project of the month was the $570 million new General Motors and POSCO Chemical cathode active materials facility in Bécancour, Quebec, which led the value of building permits in the industrial component to sharply increase by 16.7 percent nationally. This project is linked to the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy, for which further major investments in industrial projects are anticipated.
Commercial (+41.5 percent) and institutional (+29.5 percent) construction intentions also posted significant monthly gains to support a record-high month for the non-residential sector.
Following a promising February, March saw the value of new residential permits taper off (-0.9 percent) to $6.6 billion. Nationally, permits for 21,400 new dwellings were issued in the month.
British Columbia continued to sharply increase with strong construction intentions (values up +30.9 percent or + $321.9 million) in March, concentrated in metropolitan high-rise multi-dwelling developments. The four Atlantic provinces collectively also had notable monthly gains in multi-dwelling (+40.6 percent or +$48.1 million) and total residential (+14.0 percent or +$39.5 million) permit values.
These gains were nationally offset by declines in five provinces. Ontario (-8.1 percent or -$246.6 million) weighed down the sector the most, while Saskatchewan (-27.0 percent or -$12.7 million) posted the largest proportional decline of the month.