December building permit value drops

The total value of building permits in Canada decreased 14.0 percent from November to $9.2 billion in December, the lowest monthly level since October 2020. Declines were recorded in both the residential and non-residential sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), the total value of building permits declined 14.2 percent to $5.8 billion in December.

The total value of residential permits fell 17.9 percent to $5.7 billion in December, driven by a significant decline in multi-unit construction intentions (-31.1 percent), the largest monthly drop in the series. The decline in value of multi-unit permits in Ontario (-45.2 percent) greatly contributed to the overall monthly decrease in the residential sector.

Meanwhile, construction intentions in single-family dwellings edged up 0.8 percent to $2.9 billion in December. The gain in Alberta (+15.3 percent) more than offset declines in seven provinces as construction intentions for Albertan single-family dwellings recorded a fifth consecutive monthly increase and the largest monthly value since January 2014.

The total value of non-residential sector permits decreased 7.0 percent to $3.6 billion in December. The institutional decline in Quebec (-55.8 percent) more than offset total gains in the commercial (+4.1 percent) and industrial (+4.7 percent) components across Canada.

For the full year, the residential sector experienced its second consecutive annual decline in building permit values, declining by 15.5 percent to $48.3 billion in 2023, while the non-residential sector rose for the third consecutive year, up 1.7 percent to $35.9 billion in 2023.