Building permits, April 2017
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Released: 2017-06-07
$7.1 billion
April 2017
-0.2%
(monthly change)
$29.7 million
April 2017
-7.0%
(monthly change)
$17.5 million
April 2017
-2.9%
(monthly change)
$124.3 million
April 2017
25.5%
(monthly change)
$82.7 million
April 2017
29.7%
(monthly change)
$1,304.5 million
April 2017
2.7%
(monthly change)
$2,919.5 million
April 2017
-7.6%
(monthly change)
$202.4 million
April 2017
11.5%
(monthly change)
$173.6 million
April 2017
13.2%
(monthly change)
$992.1 million
April 2017
-10.8%
(monthly change)
$1,196.3 million
April 2017
22.9%
(monthly change)
$10.3 million
April 2017
87.6%
(monthly change)
$3.8 million
April 2017
114.0%
(monthly change)
$0.0 million
April 2017
...%
(monthly change)
Canadian municipalities issued $7.1 billion worth of building permits in April, down 0.2% from March. Lower construction intentions for single-family dwellings were mainly responsible for the national decrease. The value of building permits declined in four provinces in April, led by Ontario and Alberta.
Residential sector: Decline in single-family component moderated by gain in multi-family dwellings
The value of residential building permits issued by Canadian municipalities fell 2.5% in April to $4.5 billion, marking a third consecutive monthly decrease. Lower construction intentions for single-family dwellings more than offset a moderate gain in the multi-family component. In April, three provinces posted declines in the residential sector, led by Ontario.
Construction intentions for single-family dwellings fell 8.1% in April to $2.5 billion. The decrease stemmed primarily from single-detached homes in Ontario, specifically the Toronto census metropolitan area (CMA), while five other provinces also reported declines in the single-family building component.
Conversely, multi-family dwelling construction intentions rose 5.6% in April to just under $2.0 billion, largely due to gains in seven provinces, led by British Columbia. The increase followed a 21.1% drop in March and was moderated by a notable decline in the apartment building category in Alberta.
Canadian municipalities approved the construction of 16,701 new dwellings in April (down 0.7% compared with March), consisting of 6,015 single units (-1.5%) and 10,686 multi-family units (-0.2%).
Non-residential sector: Institutional and industrial components register second consecutive monthly growth
Municipalities issued $2.6 billion worth of building permits for non-residential structures in April, up 4.1% from the previous month. The increase was mainly the result of higher construction intentions for institutional and industrial structures, with both components rising for a second consecutive month. Eight provinces registered gains in the non-residential sector in April, led by British Columbia.
The institutional component rose 10.7% in April to $790 million, following a 18.3% increase in March. Higher construction intentions for government administration buildings and medical facilities, including a major hospital renewal project in Ontario, contributed most to the gain. The institutional component rose in six provinces in April, led by British Columbia.
The value of building permits issued for industrial structures rose 14.6% to $512 million in April, following a 12.3% gain the previous month. The increase in April was mainly attributable to manufacturing plants, utility buildings, and maintenance facilities.
In contrast, the commercial component decreased 3.0% in April to $1.3 billion, largely due to lower construction intentions for warehouses in Ontario.
Provinces: Ontario and Alberta report largest declines
Ontario and Alberta led the decrease in the total value of building permits in April, moderated by an increase in British Columbia.
The decline in Ontario marks a fourth consecutive monthly decrease in both the value of residential building permits and the total number of new dwelling units approved. Meanwhile, the industrial component increased for a second consecutive month in April, rising above $200 million for the first time since August 2016.
In Alberta, the decline was led by apartment buildings and industrial structures. The decline in April follows the approval of a large bus storage facility project in March. The decrease was moderated by the single-family component, which posted a fourth consecutive monthly gain in April.
In contrast, every building component in British Columbia rose in April. The value of institutional building permits increased for a second consecutive month, partly due to construction intentions for a new university building in the Vancouver CMA.
Census metropolitan areas: Toronto posts notable decrease led by single-family dwellings
In April, the value of building permits fell in 11 of 36 CMAs, led by Toronto.
The single-family component was primarily responsible for the decline in the Toronto CMA, which registered both the lowest level of single-family construction intentions and the lowest number of new single-family dwelling units approved since January 2016.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver CMA reported the largest increase in the value of building permits in April, with every building component recording gains.
In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.
The skylines of a number of census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Canada have been transformed since the mid-2000s with the construction of new apartments (rental apartments and apartment-condominiums). From 2007 to 2016, just over 820,000 apartment units were approved for construction in Canada. In Canada's three largest CMAs (Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver), apartments have had the highest construction intentions of any building type for a decade or more.
But the current rate of growth is not the largest on record. The greatest boom in apartment construction occurred from 1968 to 1973, when over 100,000 units were approved for construction annually. The demand for apartments during this period was attributable to the first cohort of baby boomers coming of age and leaving home, as well as increased immigration, especially following changes to immigration rules in 1967.
While the 1960s (717,053 units approved) and the 1970s (924,260 units approved) saw an increase in apartment construction intentions, the 1990s were the low point, with 362,559 units approved over the decade.
The current boom in apartment and condominium construction may be attributable to several factors, including increased immigration, limited land available for construction in large urban centres, an aging population, and smaller family sizes. According to the 2011 National Household Survey, condominium owners are more likely to be under the age of 35 or over 64, have a lower household income, and are more likely to be classified as a non-family or couple-only household compared with other homeowners.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
The Building Permits Survey covers over 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the Canadian population. The communities representing the other 5% of the population are very small and their levels of building activity have little impact on the total for the entire population.
Building permits data are used as a leading indicator of activity in the construction industry.
The value of planned construction activities presented in this release excludes engineering projects (such as waterworks, sewers or culverts) and land.
For the purposes of this release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: the Gatineau part and the Ottawa part.
Unless otherwise specified, the highlights refer to seasonally adjusted current dollars and are ranked in terms of dollar change rather than percentage change.
Revision
Data for the current reference month are subject to revision based on late responses. Data for the previous month have been revised.
Trend-cycle estimates have been added to the charts as a complement to the seasonally adjusted series. Both the seasonally adjusted and the trend-cycle estimates are subject to revision as additional observations become available. These revisions could be large and even lead to a reversal of movement, especially at the end of the series. The higher variability associated with the trend-cycle estimates is indicated with a dotted line on the chart.
For information on trend-cycle data, see the StatCan Blog and Trend-cycle estimates – Frequently asked questions.
Next release
Data for May on building permits will be released on July 6.
Products
The April issue of Building Permits () will soon be available. 64-001-X
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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