Municipalities issued $7.7 billion worth of building permits in October, up 9.1% from September and 3.3% higher than in October 2014.
Five provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Prince Edward Island recorded a 67.7% year-over-year gain while Alberta posted a 37.8% increase. The largest annualized losses occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (-39.1%) and British Columbia (-31.7%). Ontario reported an 11.4% annualized increase, while the year-over-year decline in Quebec was 11.0%.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.8 billion in October, up 15.5% from September and 9.1% higher than in October 2014. Five provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits: Alberta led the way (+36.0%) followed by Ontario (+13.8%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+3.6%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in four provinces with the steepest declines occurring in Nova Scotia (-50.7%) and Saskatchewan (-43.0%). Quebec’s year-over-year decline was 4.9%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $2.5 billion for multi-family dwellings in October, up 35.4% from September and 24.3% higher than in October 2014. Higher month-over-month construction intentions for projects were recorded in six provinces, led by Alberta, followed by Ontario and British Columbia. The largest loss was reported in Manitoba. Permits for single family units amounted to $2.3 billion, down 0.3% from September, and 3.6% lower than in October 2014. Increases in Ontario partially offset declines in seven provinces with Quebec registering the largest monthly decline.
Municipalities approved 19,781 new dwellings in October, up 17.1% from September and 6.9% higher than in October 2014. There was a 0.7% monthly increase but a 10.9% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,703. There was a 25.4% monthly gain and a 16.3% annualized increase in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 14,078.
The value of non-residential permits in October fell 0.2% from September to $2.9 billion and decreased 5.3% from October 2014. From September to October, industrial permits lost 22.4% to $430 million and were down 29.6% from October 2014; institutional permits gained 36.4% from September to $1.0 billion and were up 19.3% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits lost 9.9% from September to $1.4 billion, and were down 9.3% from October 2014. The monthly institutional upswing came mainly from increased construction intentions for medical facilities and government buildings in eight provinces primarily in Alberta, Quebec and Ontario. Saskatchewan and New Brunswick reported declines. The monthly industrial increase mainly resulted from lower construction intentions for utilities and manufacturing plants, mainly in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan. Commercial construction decreases occurred primarily in Ontario and Saskatchewan. The largest increase was in Alberta.