Building permits, June 2017
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2017-08-09
$8.1 billion
June 2017
2.5% 
(monthly change)
$50.5 million
June 2017
-27.8% 
(monthly change)
$21.6 million
June 2017
-57.6%
(monthly change)
$127.3 million
June 2017
34.6%
(monthly change)
$66.0 million
June 2017
-53.0%
(monthly change)
$1,475.0 million
June 2017
12.3%
(monthly change)
$3,400.4 million
June 2017
1.8%
(monthly change)
$318.9 million
June 2017
40.4%
(monthly change)
$204.8 million
June 2017
21.7%
(monthly change)
$1,087.0 million
June 2017
-8.0%
(monthly change)
$1,292.6 million
June 2017
2.0%
(monthly change)
$7.4 million
June 2017
-7.9%
(monthly change)
$9.8 million
June 2017
199.4%
(monthly change)
$0.7 million
June 2017
47.7%
(monthly change)
Canadian municipalities issued $8.1 billion worth of building permits in June, up 2.5% from May and the second highest value on record. Higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings were mainly responsible for the national increase. All building components reported gains in June, except for single-family dwellings.
Chart 1
Total value of building permits
Chart 2
Value of building permits for residential and non-residential sectors
Provinces and census metropolitan areas: Quebec posts gains in all components
The total value of building permits rose in six provinces in June, led by Quebec and Manitoba. Meanwhile, construction intentions were up in 14 of 36 census metropolitan areas (CMAs), led by Toronto, Montréal and Winnipeg. Hamilton reported the largest decline in June (-60.0%), however, this followed a notable gain in May.
In Quebec, the value of permits was up 12.3% to $1.5 billion in June, a fourth consecutive monthly increase. Gains were spread across all building components, with the largest increase in the commercial component (+25.2% to $308.9 million). In addition, construction intentions for industrial structures rose 32.3% to $152.3 million, the highest value since June 2014 and the third consecutive month the total value has exceeded $100 million.
The value of building permits for Manitoba rose 40.4% to $318.9 million in June. The increase primarily stemmed from gains in the CMA of Winnipeg.
The value of building permits for the Winnipeg CMA increased 54.0% in June to $255.6 million, the highest value on record. The value of residential permits rose 16.0% to $137.5 million, marking the fifth time in the past six months where the value exceeded $100 million. The increase in construction intentions for residential structures in the Winnipeg CMA coincided with the implementation of the City of Winnipeg's new Impact Fee. The fee came into effect on May 1, 2017 and caused an increase in permit applications prior to this date that are still being approved by the city.
Residential sector: Decline in single-family component moderated by gain in multi-family dwellings
The value of residential building permits fell 0.9% in June to $5.0 billion, the fourth decrease in five months. The decline was mainly the result of lower construction intentions in four provinces, notably Ontario.
In June, the value of permits for single-family dwellings decreased 12.5% to $2.4 billion. Seven provinces registered declines, with Ontario being the main contributor to the decrease.
Conversely, construction intentions for multi-family dwellings rose 12.5% in June to $2.7 billion, marking a third consecutive monthly increase. Seven provinces registered gains, led by Ontario and British Columbia.
Chart 3
Month-to-month change in value of residential building permits, June 2017
Non-residential sector: All components register increases
Municipalities issued $3.0 billion worth of building permits for non-residential structures in June, up 8.8% from May. This marked the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Of the five provinces that posted gains, only Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba registered increases in all three non-residential components.
In the commercial component, the value of permits rose 13.0% to $1.7 billion in June, a second consecutive monthly increase. The gain was largely attributable to higher construction intentions for office buildings and student residences in Ontario.
The value of building permits issued for industrial structures was up 6.3% to $573.5 million in June, a fourth consecutive monthly increase. The national increase was led by Quebec and was largely attributable to higher construction intentions for maintenance buildings.
The institutional component increased 2.1% to $749.3 million in June, with gains posted in four provinces. The increase primarily stemmed from the construction intentions of educational structures and hospitals in Ontario.
Chart 4
Month-to-month change in value of non-residential building permits, June 2017
Second quarter 2017
Canadian municipalities issued $23.0 billion worth of building permits in the second quarter of 2017, up 10.4% compared with the second quarter of 2016. All building components reported gains except for institutional structures.
Led by multi-family dwellings, construction intentions for residential dwellings rose 11.0% from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017, to $14.7 billion. The value of non-residential building permits increased 9.3% to $8.4 billion, led by the industrial component.
In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.
There were 24.3 million vehicles on the road in Canada in 2016, a ratio of one registered road motor vehicle for every 1.5 people. To meet the needs of those vehicles and their drivers, $370 million in service station building permits were issued in Canada in 2016, up 6.4% from 2015 but below the record high of $448 million in 2014.
The first peak in service station building permits occurred in 1988, when a then-record $369 million in permits were issued, two-thirds of which were attributable to Ontario and Quebec. This record held for a quarter-century.
Service station permits fell well below $100 million annually from 1990 to 1997, hitting a record low of $42 million in 1993—just over half the value of permits issued in 1982, at the height of the recession of the early 1980s.
Over the four decades of the current time series, the issuance of service station permits has been led by three provinces. Ontario led in the 1980s and 2000s, and Quebec led in the 1990s, while Alberta has posted the highest annual provincial total over six of the past seven years. Alberta holds the record for the highest value of service station permits issued by a province in one year, at $133 million in 2013. In contrast, not a single service station building permit was issued in Prince Edward Island from 1990 to 1995.
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 data presented in the Canada 150 section are not seasonally adjusted.
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 July on building permits will be released on September 7.
Products
The June issue of Building Permits (64-001-X) will soon be available.
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).
- Date modified: