Canada Sees Double-Digit Declines in Building Permits
Canada: Canada's building permit values saw a sharp decline of 13.9% in June, dropping to 9.9 billion USD, according to Statistics Canada. This decrease was widespread, affecting 11 out of 13 provinces and territories, with both residential and non-residential sectors seeing reductions. The only exceptions were single-family dwellings and institutional construction, which posted modest gains.
The residential sector fell 11.5% to 6.5 billion USD, driven by a nearly 20% drop in multi-unit construction intentions, particularly in Ontario and British Columbia. Ontario recorded its largest monthly decrease since December 2023. Meanwhile, the non-residential sector saw an 18% decline, with the industrial component plummeting 42.6%.
Despite the weak monthly performance, the total value of building permits in the second quarter increased by 2.1% from the first quarter, reaching 34.6 billion USD. This growth was fueled by a 6.9% rise in residential construction intentions, particularly in Ontario's multi-unit component, which set a national record of 14.4 billion USD in the second quarter. However, non-residential construction intentions declined 5.6%, offsetting some of the gains in the residential sector.
Source: On-Site Mag