October building permits increase

The total value of building permits in Canada increased 2.3 percent from September to $11.2 billion in October, led by gains in the non-residential sector, says Statistics Canada. On a constant dollar basis, the total value of building permits was up 2.2 percent to $6.4 billion. The total monthly value of residential building permits edged up 0.6 percent to $7.1 billion in October, following a 2.8 percent gain in September. Gains in residential permit values for Ontario (+7.4 percent), Alberta (+14.8 percent) and Quebec (+7.0 percent) offset declines in the remaining seven provinces. Year-over-year residential construction intentions were up 16.1 percent in October compared with October 2022. Across Canada, 18,100 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings and 4,600 new single-family dwellings were authorized. 

The total value of non-residential sector permits increased 5.3 percent to $4.1 billion in October, with gains being concentrated in Ontario (+16.0 percent). This was attributable to a significant increase in construction intentions in the institutional component (+29.2 percent to $1.4 billion).