The total value of building permits decreased 3.7% to $7.5 billion in August, following increases of 15.5% in June and 0.7% in July (revised data). The decline was attributable to lower construction intentions in most provinces, mainly British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
In the residential sector, municipalities issued $4.7 billion worth of building permits, down 5.1% from July. This was the first decline in three months. Decreases were posted in six provinces, with British Columbia posting the largest decline. Ontario registered the largest increase in the value of residential building permits.
Construction intentions for non-residential buildings declined 1.3% to $2.8 billion in August, a second consecutive monthly decrease. Decreases were recorded in six provinces, led by Alberta, followed by Quebec and Saskatchewan. Ontario registered the largest increase in non-residential construction intentions.
Municipalities issued $2.3 billion worth of building permits for multi-family dwellings in August, down 8.3% from the previous month. The largest decrease was in British Columbia, where the value of building permits for multiple dwellings had reached a record high in July. Alberta and Nova Scotia were a distant second and third. Ontario posted the largest increase in construction intentions for multi-family dwellings.
Contractors took out $2.4 billion worth of building permits for single-family dwellings in August, down 1.9% from July. This was the first decline in three months. The decrease at the national level was attributable to lower construction intentions for single-family dwellings mostly in Ontario and, to a lesser degree, in Alberta. Conversely, Quebec and Saskatchewan saw the largest increases.
The number of new dwellings approved by municipalities declined 4.6% to 18,709 units. The decrease was attributable to multi-family dwellings, which fell 5.6% to 12,675 units, and single-family dwellings, which declined 2.4% to 6,034 units.
