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The non-residential sector paced the value of Canadian building permits to growth of 2.9 per cent in February. (Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0285-01, Building permits, by type of building and type of work.)
The total value of building permits issued in Canada increased by $371.3 million in February, reports Statistics Canada. The jump of 2.9 per cent over January’s result s landed the total value at $13.1 billion. The growth in construction intentions was led by British Columbia’s non-residential sector.
Rebounding after four consecutive months of declines, the national value of non-residential building permits reached $4.7 billion in February, a rise of $618.7 million, or 15.3 per cent. The sector in British Columbia posted the largest gains amongst the provinces, rising by $657.7 million for the month, supported by gains of $390 million in the commercial component and $248.8 million in the institutional component. Major projects in the Vancouver census metropolitan area (CMA) significantly contributed to each of those gains.
Growth was posted across the full spectrum of non-residential tracking in the Statistics Canada report. Nationally, the commercial component rose $481.8 million, industrial was up $86.2 million and institutional intentions gained $50.7 million over the January figures. That was the first increase for the industrial component since September 2024.
Residential building permit values drop
Canada’s residential construction intentions headed in the opposite direction in February, declining by $247.4 million, or 2.9 per cent, to land at $8.4 billion. Overall, the multi-family component fell by $224.8 million, while the single-family component decreased by $22.6 million.
British Columbia’s multi-family component, which was down by $185.5 million, led the decline. Decreases were concentrated in the Vancouver CMA. After helping to offset losses in the national residential sector the previous month, Quebec fell by $131.5 million, a decline driven by a drop of $107.9 million in the multi-family component. Decreases in the national results were mitigated by slightly more than $110 million in growth posted in Ontario.
Across Canada, 21,000 multi-family dwellings and 4,800 single-family dwellings were authorized in February, down 7.1 per cent from the previous month.