Municipalities issued $6.8 billion worth of building permits in May, down 1.9% from April and 0.3% lower than in May 2015.
Seven provinces reported an increase in permits over a year ago. Nova Scotia experienced the largest gain, (+26.0%) followed by Manitoba (+25.6%) and Prince Edward Island (+25.0%). Annualized losses occurred in New Brunswick (-43.9%), Alberta (-33.2%) and Saskatchewan (-23.7%. Ontario recorded a year-over-year increase of 3.4% while Quebec posted a 5.2% gain over May 2015.
Builders took out residential building permits worth $4.3 billion in May, down 1.1% from April but 6.9% higher than in May 2015. Seven provinces reported an annualized growth rate for residential permits. Prince Edward Island led the way (+30.8%) followed by Nova Scotia (+20.3%) and British Columbia (+19.5%). Double-digit annualized decreases occurred in three provinces with the steepest declines occurring in Newfoundland and Labrador (-31.1%) and Alberta (-31.0%). Ontario’s annualized increase was 18.0% while Quebec’s year-over-year gain was 8.0%.
Municipalities issued permits worth $2.0 billion for multi-family dwellings in May up 7.1% from April and 19.4% higher than in May 2015. Higher month-over-month construction intentions for projects were recorded in six provinces. The largest increase occurred in Ontario, followed by Quebec and Nova Scotia. The largest loss was reported in Alberta. Permits for single family units amounted to $2.3 billion, down 7.2% from April and 2.1% lower than in May 2015. Monthly decreases were posted in seven provinces. Ontario recorded the largest monthly decline followed by New Brunswick and British Columbia.
Municipalities approved 16,360 new dwellings in May, down 0.2% from April but 4.2% higher than in May 2015. There was a 10.6% monthly decrease and a 5.1% annualized loss in the number of single-family units, which totaled 5,519. There was a 6.1% monthly increase and a 9.6% annualized loss in the number of multi-family units approved, which totaled 10,841.
The value of non-residential permits in May fell 3.3% from April to $2.5 billion and decreased 11.0% from May 2015. From April to May, industrial permits gained 0.6% to $384 million but were down 7.6% from May 2015; institutional permits rose 20.3% from April to $842 million but were down 1.8% from a year earlier; while commercial sector permits declined 15.6% from April to $1.2 billion, and were down 17.2% from May 2015. The institutional upturn in May over April came mainly from higher construction intentions for medical facilities. The largest provincial gains were in Ontario and Quebec. The monthly industrial increase mainly resulted from higher construction intentions for manufacturing plants. Increases were reported in six provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec. Commercial construction decreases occurred in five provinces primarily in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba. The monthly drop was partially due to lower construction intentions for distribution warehouses.