Quebec, Alberta Lead June’s Building Permits Increase
Higher construction intentions for institutional and industrial buildings in Quebec, along with commercial buildings in Alberta, contributed to June’s 13.5% increase from May in building permits, reported StatsCan. In total, $8 billion was issued in building permits.
The value of non-residential building permits also rose to the tune of 32.5% to $3.8 billion, marking a third consecutive monthly gain. Statscan said Quebec was responsible for the majority of the growth at the national level, while declines were seen in six provinces, Manitoba and Ontario the largest among them.
The residential sector saw the value of permits rise by slight 0.4% to $4.2 billion, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Four provinces saw gains, but they were offset by drops in other provinces. Ontario had the largest increase, with Nova Scotia and Quebec following. British Columbia had the largest decrease.
Institutional Permits More than Double in Value
The value of building permits in the institutional sector more than doubled to $1.3 billion as construction intentions for institutional buildings were rose four provinces. Quebec had the biggest advance as well as “a sharp increase in construction intentions for medical facilities,” StatsCan noted.
The industrial component saw a 63.9% gain to $744 million. That increase was due to higher construction plans for information technology buildings in Quebec and utilities buildings in Ontario.
Canadian municipalities issued $1.8 billion worth of commercial building permits in June, a drop of 2.1% from May. The drop was mainly due to lower plans to construct hotels, restaurants, warehouses and retail complexes. Seven provinces saw drops, including Ontario and Manitoba, which posted the largest decreases. Meanwhile, Alberta, British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador all saw gains.
Single-family Dwellings Climb, Multi-Family Drops
Building permits for single-family dwellings were up 5.5% in June, totaling $2.4 billion and marking the third consecutive monthly increase. Alberta led in the provinces that saw increases, with Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia following.
Meanwhile, construction plans for multi-family units fell 6.0% to $1.7 billion, the first decline after three months of increases. The drop was attributed primarily to lower construction intentions in Western Canada. Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec all posted gains.
Nationally, municipalities approved the construction of 16,770 new dwellings, down 4.6% from May. The drop was due to a 10.7% decline in multi-family units to 10,202. The number of single-family dwellings climbed 6.9% to 6,568 units.
Quebec Posts Biggest Gain
The total value of permits was up in five provinces in June, with a Quebec at the forefront and Alberta a “distant second,” StatsCan said.
Quebec saw “substantial advances in construction intentions for institutional buildings, industrial buildings and, to a lesser extent, multi-family dwellings.” Higher construction plans for commercial buildings and single-family dwellings were the main contributors to Alberta’s growth.
The largest drop was in Manitoba, with commercial buildings accounting for most of the decrease.
Cities Still Building
The value of permits was up in 20 of the 34 census metropolitan areas, with Montréal reporting the largest increase, with Calgary trailing far behind. StatsCan said higher construction intentions for institutional and industrial buildings buoyed Montréal’s increase, and Calgary’s increase came from construction permits for commercial buildings.
The cities with the biggest drops were Winnipeg, followed by Toronto and Vancouver. Declines in Winnipeg and Toronto were due to lower construction plans for commercial buildings, while Vancouver saw lower intentions to build multi-family dwellings.
