Canada Building Permits Fall the Most since 2017

The value of building permits in Canada slipped 5.5 percent from the prior month to CAD 8.4 billion in January 2019, following an upwardly revised 6.4 percent jump in the prior month and worse than market estimates of a 5 percent decline. It is the largest monthly decrease in building permits since November 2017. The value of permits issued for non-residential building slumped 15.8 percent month-over-month to CAD 3 billion, amid lower construction intentions for commercial buildings which fell 25.3 percent to CAD 1.8 billion, after a record high in December. Conversely, increases were reported for both the industrial (4.8 percent) and institutional (0.4 percent) components. Meantime, in the residential sector, the value of building permits rose 1.6 percent to CAD 5.4 billion, as both single-family (3.1 percent) and multi-family dwellings (0.7 percent) posted gains. The total value of building permits fell in five provinces in January, led by British Columbia (-24.3 percent).