StatCan figures show that the growth was primarily driven by the residential sector
The total value of building permits across Canada rose to a new record high in January, according to recent figures from Statistics Canada.
StatCan figures showed the total value of building permits issued in Canada rose in January by 8.2% from December to $9.9 billion, surpassing the previous record of $9.6 billion set in April 2019.
Read more: Total value of building permits plummets – except for one dwelling type
According to StatCan, the growth was primarily driven by the residential sector, which saw the value of permits issued increase by 10.6% to $7.1 billion in January – significantly past the previous peak of $6.5 billion posted two months earlier.
“The majority of the rise in the residential sector was attributable to single-family homes, which climbed 15.1% to a record $3.5 billion – the eighth increase in nine months,” said StatCan.
Meanwhile, multi-family permits rose by 6.5% to $3.5 billion, which StatCan said was driven by higher construction intentions in Ontario (+17.1%), where several permits in excess of $100 million were issued for condominium apartments in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Toronto.”
The non-residential sector experienced a more modest increase, with the total value of permits issued for non-residential buildings rising 2.6% to $2.8 billion in January after a 10.8% drop in December.
“Following three consecutive monthly declines, industrial permits bounced back to average 2020 levels, increasing 31.7% to $535 million in January,” said StatCan. “High-value permits for an Amazon warehouse in Lachine, Quebec, and for two Eglinton Crosstown light rail transit stations in Toronto helped reverse the downward trend.”
