Canada’s total building permits totaled $10.5 billion in March, down 11.7% from the previous month.
Compared to February, construction intentions for non-residential buildings decreased by 16.7% to $4 billion, and in the residential sector by 8.3% to $6.5 billion. A decrease was observed in all components except the commercial component.
Still, total building permits in the first quarter of 2024 totaled $33.4 billion, an increase of 3.7% from the previous quarter.
This represents a partial recovery from Q4 2023, which was the lowest quarterly total since Q3 2021 ($30.5 billion).
Growth in the first quarter was led by BC (+20.1%), with strong increases in the commercial and industrial and multifamily sectors.
Despite the quarterly increase, construction intentions in the first quarter of 2024 remain below the average quarterly level of the past two years.
Industrial, commercial and institutional construction intentions rose 6.9% to $13 billion in the first quarter, the highest level in four quarters, led by the commercial sector (+22.3%).
Growth was driven by office building permits, with nine provinces and territories overall leading the way in commercial construction, led by Ontario (+34.8%), Quebec (+31.2%) and British Columbia (+32.4%). reported an increase in intentions.
Residential building permits rose 1.8% in the first quarter. Multifamily growth (+7.9%) was partially offset by a decline in the single-family residential component (-6.6%).
Housing ups and downs in March
Residential building permits across Canada fell 8.3% month-on-month to $6.5 billion in March, driven by a decline in both single-family and multifamily permits in Ontario.-13.7%).
Despite the overall decline, Quebec (+7.3%), Prince Edward Island (+70.4%), Saskatchewan (+10.3%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+7.7%), and Manitoba ( +0.9%), the residential sector grew.
Across Canada, 16,800 new apartment buildings and 4,200 new single-family homes were approved in March. A total of 260,200 new housing units were approved from April 2023 to March 2024.
statcan.gc.ca
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