Declines in the value of permits in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia more than offset increases in the six other provinces.
In the non-residential sector, the value of permits fell 16.6% to $2.3 billion, a second consecutive monthly decrease. The largest declines were in Ontario and Saskatchewan.
In the residential sector, the value of permits decreased 6.0% to $3.6 billion after three consecutive monthly increases. The largest declines occurred in Ontario and Quebec, particularly in construction intentions for multiple-family dwelling permits in Ontario.
Non-residential sector: Construction intentions down in commercial and institutional components
In the commercial component, municipalities issued permits worth $1.3 billion in August, 20.6% less than the previous month. Permit values declined the most for office buildings, hotels and restaurants as well as recreational buildings. Commercial construction intentions fell in every province.
In the institutional component, the value of permits decreased 17.1% to $629 million, following three monthly increases. The decline was mainly the result of lower construction intentions for educational facilities in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Quebec.
In the industrial component, the value of permits rose 1.8% to $371 million, following a 40.6% decline the previous month. Alberta led the gains with higher construction intentions in utilities and transportation as well as in manufacturing. These were offset by declines in the same building categories in Ontario.
Residential and non-residential sectors
Residential sector: Single and multiple-family construction intentions decline
The value of building permits for multiple-family dwellings decreased 8.9% to $1.4 billion in August. Intentions were down in five provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec. The largest increase was in British Columbia.
Construction intentions for single-family dwellings declined 4.1% to $2.2 billion in August, after two monthly gains. The largest declines occurred in Alberta and Quebec.
Nationally, municipalities approved 15,903 new dwellings, down 10.0% from July. The number of multiple-family dwellings fell 13.9% to 9,098 units, while the number of single-family dwellings declined 4.4% to 6,805 units.
Permit values down in four provinces
In August, the total value of building permits decreased in four provinces.
The largest declines were in Ontario and Quebec, as permits for multiple-family dwellings were down in both provinces. In addition, construction intentions in the institutional component were down in Ontario, while commercial construction intentions declined in Quebec.
The largest gains occurred in Alberta, British Columbia and New Brunswick. In Alberta, construction intentions increased the most in the industrial and institutional components. Higher construction intentions for multiple-family dwellings led the increases in British Columbia and New Brunswick.
Construction intentions down in more than half of the census metropolitan areas
The total value of permits decreased in 19 of the 34 census metropolitan areas in August.
The largest decline occurred in Toronto, led by decreases in the institutional component and multiple-family dwellings. In Montréal, declines occurred in the residential sector and the commercial component, while in Edmonton, construction intentions decreased for single-family dwellings and in the commercial component.
The largest increases were in Calgary, Québec and Oshawa. In Calgary, the advance was primarily attributable to multiple-family dwellings and commercial permits. In Québec, the gain originated from higher intentions in the non-residential sector. In Oshawa, the increase was a result of higher commercial construction intentions.