Residential Building Permits Stall Despite Monthly Increases in Seven Provinces for June
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August 31, 2023
The total monthly value of building permits in Canada increased 6.1% in June to $11.6 billion, with a notable 67.2% monthly increase (+$619.3 million) in the institutional component.
On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits went up 7.0% to $6.8 billion.
Hospital construction intentions lead gains in non-residential permit values
The total monthly value of non-residential permits increased 20.4% to $4.7 billion in June. Declines in the commercial construction intentions (-7.7% or -$176.0 million) were more than offset by gains in the industrial (+51.0% or +$349.9 million) and institutional (+67.2% or +$619.3 million) components.
The two highest-valued permits in June were issued for the construction of new hospitals in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec and Dawson Creek, British Columbia, which together totalled 58.6% of the total value of institutional construction intentions.
![Residential permits stall despite monthly increases in seven provinces](https://electricalindustry.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/g230809a001-eng.png)
Residential permits stall despite monthly increases in seven provinces
The total monthly value of residential permits declined 1.8% to $6.9 billion in June. Ontario (-11.4% or -$358.1 million) contributed the most to the decline, falling off after the province posted strong volumes of large multi-unit projects in May. Similarly, Saskatchewan (-51.4% or -$58.5 million) and New Brunswick (-20.5% or -$20.7 million) posted notable declines, mostly offset by gains in each of the remaining seven provinces.
Across Canada, permits for 22,000 new dwellings were issued in June.
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Second quarter of 2023 declines compared with first quarter of 2023
The total value of building permits in the second quarter declined 1.0% from the first quarter to $32.2 billion, as the non-residential sector fell 9.6% to $12.0 billion, following the first quarter’s record high for the sector.
Despite the overall decline, the residential sector broke a three-quarter slump, increasing 4.9% in the second quarter to $20.3 billion. Year over year, the value of construction intentions in the residential sector remained below the level seen in the second quarter of 2022 ($24.2 billion).
Similarly, 64,400 dwelling units were created in permits issued in the second quarter of 2023, 2.7% more than in the first quarter (62,700 units), with British Columbia leading the quarterly gains (+24.4% or +2,700 new units). Nationally, new dwelling units created in the second quarter were 14.7% below the number of dwellings created in the second quarter of 2022 (75,400 units).
To explore data using an interactive user interface, visit the Building permits: Interactive Dashboard.
For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.