According to Statistics Canada, Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion in building permits in December, up 4.8 percent following a 7.3 percent decline in November. The December increase stemmed from higher construction intentions in the residential sector. Across Canada, all components climbed in 2017, up 10.4 percent from the previous year, led by the multi-family dwelling component.
Construction intentions for single-family homes led the rise in December. Canadian municipalities issued $2.8 billion in permits for single-family dwellings, rising 8.9 percent from the previous month and the largest month-over-month increase in 2017.
The value of permits for multi-family dwellings increased to $2.4 billion in December, up 7.0 percent from the previous month.
For the full-year 2017, Canadian municipalities issued $35.4 billion in permits for non-residential structures in 2017, climbing 15.1 percent from the previous year and the first increase since 2014. The institutional component led the increase in 2017, rising $2.0 billion from 2016, followed by the industrial (+$1.9 billion) and commercial (+$840.5 million) components.
Nationally, all components were up in 2017, climbing 10.4 percent from the previous year. The value of permits in the residential sector has increased every year since 2009, primarily stemming from the multi-family component. In 2017, the residential sector increased 7.8 percent, pushed up by the multi-family component (+13.7 percent).