All Sectors Post Declining Building Permits

The total value of building permits fell 17.5 per cent in September to $10.2 billion, the largest recorded monthly decline, says Statistics Canada. This was the first time all survey components posted monthly decreases since September 2019. Both the residential (-15.6 per cent to $7 billion) and the non-residential (-21.5 per cent to $3.2 billion) sector posted declines. On a constant dollar basis, the total value of building permits dropped 17.8 per cent to $6 billion. For the residential sector, the value of building permits in the multi-family component tumbled 21.2 per cent and represented the largest decline. This drop was largely due to Ontario, which fell 39.6 per cent following a record high in August. Construction intentions in the single-family home component declined 7.7 per cent. The institutional component, after three consecutive monthly increases, dropped 37.2 per cent in the month. Construction intentions in the commercial component fell 11.5 per cent while the industrial component declined 23.4 per cent.