Ontario Bolsters Growth in Residential Construction Intentions in May

July 17, 2023

The total monthly value of building permits in Canada increased 10.5% in May to $10.5 billion.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), the total value of building permits increased 10.0% to $6.2 billion.

Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted

Ontario Bolsters Growth in Residential Construction Intentions in May. Chart 1: Total value of building permits, seasonally adjusted.

Ontario bolsters growth in residential construction intentions

The total monthly value of residential permits rose 8.5% to $6.8 billion in May, with Ontario contributing to 45.8% of Canada’s residential permit values.

Ontario increased 16.3% month over month to $3.1 billion, led by multi-dwelling permits issued in urban areas. New Brunswick (+27.2% or +$22.2 million) had the highest provincial growth rate, while Quebec (+10.8% or +$102.3 million), Alberta (+4.7% or +$34.5 million) and British Columbia (+3.7% or +$50.3 million) observed more modest gains.

Across Canada, permits for 3,800 new residential units were issued for single-family homes in May, compared with permits for 17,700 new dwellings in multi-unit buildings.

Commercial projects push non-residential permits up

The total monthly value of non-residential permits rose 14.2% to $3.7 billion in May.

Commercial permits surged (+45.8% or +$703.4 million), more than offsetting monthly losses in the institutional component (-23.3% or -$251.3 million).

Despite overall monthly gains, the value of non-residential construction intentions in May was down 11.2% year over year.

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.

Building permits, May 2023

Thumbnail for Infographic 1: Building permits, May 2023

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