Canada Building Permits Rise the Most in Over 11 Years

The value of building permits in Canada jumped 20.2 percent from a month earlier to CAD 7.4 billion in May 2020, rebounding from a 15.4 percent plunge in the previous month and beating market expectations of a 15 percent rise. It was the largest increase in the value of building permits since March 2009, amid the easing of coronavirus construction restrictions in Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. The total value of residential permits advanced 18.7 percent to CAD 4.8 billion, as single-family homes rose by a record CAD 518 million (+37.5 percent) and the value of permits for multi-family dwellings increased 9 percent to CAD 2.9 billion, driven by projects in the Montréal and Vancouver census metropolitan areas. Also, the value of commercial permits was up 20.8 percent to CAD 1.5 billion in May, boosted by industrial permits (57.6 percent), commercial (20.8 percent) and institutional (2.8 percent).