Canada Building Permits Rise the Most in Over 11 Years

The value of building permits in Canada jumped 17% from a month earlier to an over one-year high of CAD 9.4 billion in September 2020, following a downwardly revised 1.4% gain in August. It was the largest rise in the value of building permits since March 2009, amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions. The total value of residential permits issued increased 6.9% to CAD 6.0 billion, as permits issued for single family homes increased 8.9% to CAD 2.8 billion and those for multi-family dwellings went up 5.2% to CAD 3.3 billion. Also, the total value of non-residential permits soared 40.6% to CAD 3.4 billion, driven by industrial (+49.1%), commercial (+42.3%) and institutional (+30.2%). Considering the third quarter as a whole, the value of building permits jumped 16.5%, almost returning to levels observed in Q4 2019. This was the largest gain since 2009 when the economy was recovering from the 2008 financial crisis and possibly reflected the issuance of permits delayed due to COVID-19.