Steel Markets

Canada Building Permits Values Rise Sharply in June

August 7, 2014

Building permits in Canada rose in value by 13.5 percent in June to $8.0 billion according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The jump in value surprised market analysts who were expecting a 2.0 percent decline from May.

Quebec non-residential construction intentions led the increase, rising 32.5 percent to $3.8 billion. Residential permits increased in value by 0.4 percent to 4.2 billion, a fourth consecutive monthly increase.

Non-Residential

Permit values in the institutional sector more than doubled in value to $1.3 billion in June. Industrial construction intentions rose 63.9 percent to $744 million mostly for information technology buildings in Quebec and utilities buildings in Ontario. Commercial building permits were valued at $1.8 billion in June, down 2.1 percent from May.

Residential
Residential permit values for single-family dwellings increased 5.5 percent to $2.4 billion. Single-family permit authorizations were up 6.9 percent from May to 6,568 units.

Values for multi-family construction intentions fell 6 percent to $1.7 million after three consecutive monthly increases. Multi-family permit authorizations fell 10.7 percent to 10,202 units in June.