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StatsCan building permits report: January 2015

March 10, 2015 – The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities
fell 12.9% to $6.1 billion in January, following a 6.1% increase the
previous month. Lower construction intentions for non-residential
buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario were responsible for
much of the national decline.

March 10, 2015 – The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities
fell 12.9% to $6.1 billion in January, following a 6.1% increase the
previous month. Lower construction intentions for non-residential
buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario were responsible for
much of the national decline.

Construction intentions in the non-residential sector fell 22.8% to
$2.0 billion in January, following a 15.0% increase the previous month.
Decreases were recorded in eight provinces, with Alberta, British
Columbia and Ontario accounting for most of the drop. Quebec (+54.3%)
registered the largest increase.

In the residential sector, the value of permits declined 7.0% to
$4.1 billion, following a 1.5% increase in December. Decreases were
registered in every province, except Saskatchewan, as a result of lower
construction intentions for multi-family dwellings. Ontario, Quebec,
British Columbia and Manitoba posted the largest declines. Saskatchewan
posted an increase in the value of both single and multi-family dwelling
permits.

Non-residential sector: Declines in all three components

Canadian municipalities issued institutional building permits worth
$387 million in January, down 49.8% from December. This followed a 15.2%
increase the previous month. The value of institutional building
permits was down in six provinces, with Alberta and, to a lesser extent,
British Columbia accounting for much of the monthly decrease. The
decline at the national level was the result of lower construction
intentions for educational institutions, medical facilities as well as
nursing homes and retirement residences. Ontario posted the largest gain
in the value of institutional building permits.

The value of commercial building permits fell 8.0% to $1.3 billion,
following a 15.1% increase in December. This was the result of lower
construction intentions for a variety of commercial buildings, including
hotels and restaurants, warehouses and office buildings. Declines were
recorded in seven provinces, with British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario
posting the largest decreases. Quebec (+110.6%) registered the largest
increase in the commercial component.

In the industrial component, the value of permits was down 22.8% in
January to $337 million, following a 14.2% increase the previous month.
The decrease was mainly attributable to lower construction intentions
for transportation-related buildings and, to a lesser extent,
manufacturing plants in several provinces. Gains were registered in four
provinces in this component, led by Quebec.

Residential sector: Lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings

The value of permits for multi-family dwellings declined 21.0% to
$1.5 billion in January, a fourth consecutive monthly decline. This
marked the lowest level for the component since March 2013. The decrease
in January was the result of lower construction intentions in nine
provinces, with Ontario registering by far the largest decline.
Saskatchewan was the lone province to post an increase.

Municipalities issued building permits for single-family dwellings
worth $2.6 billion in January, up 3.5% from December. This was the
second consecutive monthly advance. Increases were reported in four
provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec.

Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 14,888 new
dwellings, down 7.5% from the previous month. The decline was the result
of a 12.9% decrease in the number of multi-family dwellings
to 8,510 units. Conversely, the number of single-family dwellings
increased 0.9% to 6,378 units.

Provinces: Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario post the largest decreases

The total value of permits was down in eight provinces in January,
with Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario registering the largest
declines.

After posting a 32.6% increase in December, which came mainly from
permits issued for institutional projects, Alberta registered a 27.2%
decrease in January.

In British Columbia, the decline was attributable to lower
construction intentions in both the non-residential and residential
sectors. Ontario registered a decrease in January on lower construction
intentions for multi-family dwellings as well as commercial and
industrial buildings.

The largest gain occurred in Quebec, with commercial buildings and single-family dwellings accounting for most of the increase.

Lower construction intentions in most census metropolitan areas

The total value of permits was down in 23 of the 34 census
metropolitan areas (CMAs). The largest decreases occurred in Edmonton,
Vancouver and Calgary.

The declines in both Edmonton and Vancouver were attributable to
lower construction intentions for commercial and institutional
buildings. In Calgary, multi-family dwellings, as well as commercial and
institutional buildings were responsible for the decline. All three of
these CMAs posted notable gains in December.

The largest gains occurred in Montréal, followed by Québec. In
Montréal, commercial buildings contributed the most to the monthly
increase, while in Québec the advance came from the non-residential and
residential sectors.