The value of building permits increased 2.4% to $5.7 billion in December, following two consecutive months of declines. The increase was mainly attributable to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Ontario. In the residential sector, the value of permits rose 21.2% to $3.8 billion in December, following two consecutive monthly decreases. Ontario was responsible for much of the growth observed at the national level. Gains in the residential sector were also posted in seven other provinces. In contrast, the value of non-residential permits fell 22.0% to $1.9 billion in December, its lowest level since January 2010. The decline was due primarily to decreases in the commercial and institutional components in almost every province. The total value of permits rose in half of the provinces, led by Ontario. Quebec recorded the most important decline. For 2010 as a whole, the value of building permits issued by municipalities was up 19.8% to $73.1 billion. The advance was largely attributable to a sharper increase in residential construction intentions, up 27.6% from 2009 to $44.3 billion. In the non-residential sector, the value of permits totalled $28.8 billion, up 9.5% compared with 2009. Residential sector: Significant increase in construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Ontario Construction intentions for multi-family units increased 55.3% to $1.6 billion in December, the highest level since April 2008. The December advance was due mainly to increases in seven provinces, with Ontario accounting for most of the gain. Note to readers Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which eases comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. The Building Permits Survey covers 2,400 municipalities representing 95% of the population. It provides an early indication of building activity. The communities representing the other 5% of the population are very small, and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total. The value of planned construction activities shown in this release excludes engineering projects (e.g., waterworks, sewers or culverts) and land. For the purpose of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: Gatineau part and Ottawa part. Revision Preliminary data are provided for the current reference month. Revised data, based on late responses, are updated for the previous month. The value of building permits for single-family units rose 3.6% to $2.1 billion. This was the second consecutive monthly gain. The December increase was attributable to advances in six provinces, led by Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. Quebec, on the other hand, experienced the largest decline in single-family construction intentions. At the national level, municipalities approved the construction of 17,893 new dwellings in December, up 27.0%. The increase was largely due to multi-family dwellings, which went up 45.2% to 10,664 units. Single-family dwellings rose 7.2% to 7,229 units. Non-residential sector: Strong declines in the commercial and institutional components The value of commercial building permits fell 21.7% to $1.0 billion. This was the second consecutive month of large declines. The December decline was attributable in particular to construction permits for office buildings in Quebec and hotels and warehouses in Alberta. In the institutional component, municipalities issued permits worth $396 million, down 38.0% from November. It was the component's third straight monthly decrease, pushing it to its lowest level since February 2009. Every province except Saskatchewan recorded a decline in the component. The largest decreases were in building permits for medical facilities in Quebec and educational institutions in Ontario. After two consecutive monthly gains, industrial construction intentions edged down 0.4% to $450.5 million. The decrease was largely attributable to manufacturing plants and primary sector buildings in several provinces. The component's decline was partly offset by higher construction intentions for transportation and utilities buildings, particularly in Ontario and Alberta. Ontario posts the biggest gain In December, the value of building permits was up in five provinces. The largest gain was in Ontario. The province experienced substantial increases due to multi- and single-family permits. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also posted gains. In Manitoba, the increase was due entirely to the residential sector, while in Saskatchewan, it was attributable to the residential sector and the institutional component of the non-residential sector. Quebec recorded the most important decline, following an 18.2% increase in November. The decrease in December was due primarily to lower construction intentions for institutional and commercial buildings in the non-residential sector. British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador followed and also recorded their second consecutive monthly decline. Increases in half of the census metropolitan areas The total value of permits was up in half of Canada's census metropolitan areas. Toronto posted the biggest gain, followed by Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and Calgary. In Toronto and Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo, the increase was attributable in particular to building permits for multi-family dwellings. In Calgary, the advance was mostly due to construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family units. Conversely, the largest declines were in Montréal, Gatineau and Ottawa. In Montréal, the decrease was due to the residential and non-residential sectors, which both had posted gains in November. In Gatineau, the decline was attributable primarily to lower construction intentions for commercial buildings, which had risen the previous month. In Ottawa, the decrease was mainly due to the residential sector.
Building permits
