The monthly total value of building permits in Canada decreased 4.0% in January to $9.8 billion, reported Statistics Canada on Friday.

There were eight provinces that reported decreases in January, with the multi-residential sector in British Columbia significantly contributing to the national fall.

“The residential sector declined 6.6 per cent to $6.1 billion in January, while the non-residential sector was relatively stable, increasing a modest 0.7 per cent to $3.7 billion,” said the federal agency. “On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits went down 3.2 per cent to $5.8 billion in January.”

Thumbnail for Infographic 1: Building permits, January 2023

 

StatsCan said the downward trend of multi-family homes continued as construction intentions declined 8.3 per cent in January. Most of the decline stemmed from British Columbia (-27.9 per cent or -$301.2 million) following a month of significant urban development intentions. Conversely, Manitoba posted a notable increase (+106.0 per cent or +$63.0 million) in January.

Total permit values for single-family homes decreased 4.4 per cent in January, with Quebec (-13.5 per cent or -$74.6 million) contributing the most to the decline. Alberta (+0.8 per cent) and British Columbia (+0.6 per cent) were the only provinces to post increases for this component, it added.

“Commercial permit values increased 5.4 per cent in January, with Ontario leading the charge (+22.8 per cent). This was the second consecutive monthly increase as the component reached the third-highest recorded value since the start of the series (2011),” said the report. “The value of building permits in the industrial component decreased 3.9 per cent in January, with six provinces posting declines. After reaching its peak at over a billion dollars in November 2022, the component returned to more normal levels in January 2023.

“Construction intentions in the institutional sector decreased 5.9 per cent in January, with Quebec (-21.1 per cent) having the biggest decline. Conversely, British Columbia jumped 43.8 per cent due to an $87 million permit for an educational building in Kelowna.”

(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald, covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He works as well as a freelance writer for several national publications and as a consultant in communications and media relations/training. Mario was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)

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