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StatsCan building permits report

April 9, 2014 – Municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in
February, down 11.6% from January. This decrease followed an 8.1%
gain the previous month and was mainly driven by lower construction intentions
for multi-family dwellings in all provinces.

April 9, 2014 – Municipalities issued building permits worth $6.1 billion in
February, down 11.6% from January. This decrease followed an 8.1%
gain the previous month and was mainly driven by lower construction intentions
for multi-family dwellings in all provinces.

Construction intentions for residential buildings declined 21.0% to $3.6 billion,
following a 26.1% increase the previous month. This was the third decline
in four months. Lower residential construction intentions were recorded in
every province, except Prince Edward Island. Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia
registered the largest decreases.

In the non-residential sector, the value of building permits rose 6.6%
to $2.5 billion in February, following a 15.4% decrease the
previous month. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec were responsible for
most of the growth at the national level, while declines were recorded in
Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

Residential sector: Construction intentions down for both
multi-family and single-family dwellings

The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings decreased 31.5%
to $1.5 billion in February, the third decline in four months. Declines
were reported in all provinces, with Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta
posting the largest decreases.

Construction intentions for single-family dwellings fell 12.0% to $2.2 billion
in February, following a 14.0% increase in January. Construction intentions
fell in six provinces, with Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia accounting
for most of the decline at the national level.

Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 14,011 new
dwellings in February, down 23.8% from January. The decrease in February
was the result of a 29.3% decline in multi-family dwellings to 8,289 units
and a 14.3% decline in single-family dwellings to 5,722 units.

Non-residential sector: Gains in the institutional and industrial
components

Canadian municipalities issued $673 million worth of institutional
building permits in February, up 14.9% from January. Gains in four provinces,
led by Ontario, more than offset declines in the remaining provinces. The
increase in Ontario came mainly from medical facilities. Alberta registered
the largest decrease as a result of lower construction intentions for medical
facilities, educational institutions and government buildings.

In the industrial component, the value of permits rose 26.8% to $348 million
in February, following a 44.5% decrease in the previous month. This increase
was the result of higher construction intentions for mining and primary industry
buildings in Quebec, as well as manufacturing plants in Alberta and Quebec.
Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia posted the largest decreases.

Following a 14.5% advance in January, Canadian municipalities issued $1.5 billion
worth of commercial building permits in February, down 0.3% from the
previous month. The decrease came from a variety of commercial buildings,
including hotels and restaurants as well as service stations. Declines in
four provinces, led by Ontario and Manitoba, offset increases in the other
provinces. British Columbia recorded the largest gain, followed by New Brunswick
and Saskatchewan.

Provinces: Large declines in Alberta, Quebec and British
Columbia

The value of permits was down in seven provinces in February. The largest
decrease occurred in Alberta and was mainly the result of lower construction
intentions for residential and institutional buildings. In Quebec, the monthly
decrease was attributable to multi-family dwellings, while lower construction
intentions for residential and institutional buildings were the reason for
the decline in British Columbia.

The largest increase occurred in Ontario, where institutional building
intentions were responsible for the growth. Prince Edward Island was a distant
second, followed by New Brunswick. Institutional building and single-family
construction intentions contributed to the advance in Prince Edward Island,
while commercial buildings and single-family dwellings were responsible for
the gain in New Brunswick.

Lower construction intentions in more than half of the census
metropolitan areas

In February, the total value of permits was down in 20 of the 34 census
metropolitan areas.

The largest decrease was in Toronto, followed by Edmonton and Montréal.
In Toronto, the decrease was principally attributable to residential buildings
and, to a lesser extent, commercial buildings. Lower intentions in all components
explained the decline in Edmonton. In Montréal, multi-family dwellings
were behind most of the decrease.

Kingston recorded the largest increase in February, followed by Ottawa.
The value of permits issued in Kingston rose largely as a result of higher
construction intentions for institutional buildings, while in Ottawa, multi-family
dwellings and, to a lesser extent, institutional buildings were responsible
for the increase.

For more information

www.statscan.gc.ca