The month of June saw the first decrease in building permits taken out by contractors in six months, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada.
The $6.6 billion in total building permits taken out in June represents a drop of 10.4 per cent from May.
Permit values were down in seven out of the ten provinces, with Quebec and Ontario leading the pack.
Quebec saw the largest decline, mainly because of lower construction intentions for commercial buildings, multi-family dwellings and industrial buildings. In Ontario, residential dwellings and commercial buildings were chiefly responsible.
Manitoba finished well back in third as a result of lower construction intentions for institutional buildings and multi-family dwellings.
British Columbia had the largest increases as an advance in commercial building intentions offset decreases in the industrial and institutional components. And New Brunswick also made gains thanks to strong commercial construction intentions.
Despite the month’s overall setbacks, the total value of building permits nationwide continues to trend upwards, according to the report.
Toronto and Montreal hardest hit metropolitan areas
The total value of permits was down in 20 of the 34 census metropolitan areas (populations of at least 100,000 with 50,000 living in the core) in Canada, led by Toronto and Montreal, with Quebec City a distant third.
In Toronto, the decrease was due to declining numbers of multi-family dwellings. In Montreal, lower intentions for commercial and industrial buildings were responsible for the decline. And in Quebec City, institutional and commercial construction intentions and, to a lesser degree, residential dwellings caused the decrease.
Calgary had the largest increase in June, followed by Vancouver and Thunder Bay. On the heels of a 41 per cent decrease in May, the value of permits issued in Calgary rebounded thanks to higher construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings.
Commercial buildings were on the rise in Vancouver, and in Thunder Bay institutional buildings drove numbers upwards.
For more information visit www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130807/dq130807a-eng.htm
Source: Statistics Canada
