Apr 10, 2024
February sees strong building permit values
Month over month, the total value of building permits in Canada increased 9.3 percent to $11.8 billion in February, says Statistics Canada. The non-residential sector grew 12.3 percent to $4.7 billion due to the issuance of several major construction permits, while the residential sector increased 7.4 percent to $7.1 billion. Ontario (+21.7 percent to $5 billion) led the growth, with gains occurring across all components.
Non-residential permits growth was mostly attributed to the industrial component, which increased 57.8 percent to $1.3 billion in February. Permits for large industrial construction projects were issued across the country. The monthly growth in the non-residential sector in February was also supported by the increase in the institutional component (+18.2 percent to $1.3 billion).
As for residential permits, Ontario (+14.2 percent to $2.8 billion) contributed the most to the rise in value of both single-family and multi-family dwelling permits. Intentions for residential construction growth were divided between single-dwelling (+9.6 percent; +$248.2 million) and multi-dwelling (+6.0 percent; +$239.3 million) permits in February.
In addition to Ontario, British Columbia (+5.9 percent; +$76.4 million), Quebec (+3.9 percent; +$44.2 million) and Alberta (+3.9 percent; +$41.7 million) were the primary contributors to the second consecutive monthly increase in the residential sector.
Across Canada, 16,400 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,600 new single-family dwellings were authorized in February. From March 2023 to February 2024, a total of 253,400 new units were authorized.
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