The value of building permits totalled $5.0 billion in August, up 7.2% from July. The bulk of the increase in construction intentions was due to gains in Ontario and British Columbia.
In August, municipalities issued $2.9 billion worth of building permits in the residential sector, an 11.2% increase, and $2.1 billion in the non-residential sector, a 2.2% advance.
Excluding the municipality of Toronto, the total value of building permits was up 6.3% in the residential sector and down 6.2% in the non-residential sector.
At the provincial level, the value of building permits increased in three provinces in August: Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. The largest declines were in Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
Residential sector: Higher intentions for single-family and multi-family permits
Municipalities issued $2.1 billion worth of building permits for single-family dwellings in August, 15.1% more than in July. This was the sixth consecutive monthly increase, fuelled by higher construction intentions in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.
The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings rose 2.6% to $841.7 million in August.
British Columbia registered the largest decline in dollar terms, while Ontario, Alberta and Quebec posted gains in construction intentions for multi-family dwellings.
Municipalities approved the construction of 13,432 new dwellings in August, up 7.6%. The increase was largely attributable to single-family dwellings, which increased 12.1% to 7,315 units.
Note
The number of multi-family dwellings approved rose 2.8% to 6,117 units.