Canadian building permits dropped 5.2% to $6.5 billion in April, after 2 previous monthly increases. The non-residential sector led the decrease with permits dropping 8.4% to $2.7 billion.Residential followed with a 2.8% decline in permits in April, down for the fourth consecutive month. Non-residential permits were down in six provinces. The institutional component reported the largest percentage decline, down 43% to $556 million after a previous 2-month gain. However, both commercial and industrial permits reported increases for the month. Commercial building permits rose 1.9% to $1.6 billion, increasing for the third month. Industrial construction permits went from a 42.4% drop in March to a 34.7% increase in April to $554 million.

The residential sector reported permits for single-family units down 2.0% to $2.2 billion, making April the fourth month to see declines. Permits for multi-family dwellings declined 4% in April.

The construction of 16,484 new dwellings was approved in April, down 7.3% from March. Multi-family permits dropped 9.5% to 9,704 units while single-family dwellings dropped 4% to 6,780 units. The total value of permits declined in 19 of the 34 census metropolitan areas.

Source: Statistics Canada