By Statistics Canada
Building permits for August 2024
Canadian Contractor
(Adobe Stock)
Statistics Canada, The Daily, has released its data on building permits for August 2024.
The total value of building permits in Canada decreased by $858.1 million to $11.5 billion in August, following a strong July during which construction intentions rose sharply. The residential and non-residential sectors contributed to the decrease in August. On a constant dollar basis, the total value of building permits decreased 7.6 percent in August.
Reductions in multi-unit construction intentions slow down the residential sector
Residential building permits fell by $387.2 million to $7.1 billion in August, driven by the multi-unit component, while the single-family component tempered the decline. Ontario and British Columbia led the declines in multi-unit permit values. For the single-family component, Alberta and Ontario were the major contributors to the growth recorded in August.
Across Canada, 18,500 new multi-family dwellings and 4,700 new single-family dwellings were authorized in August, representing a 4.1 percent decrease in the total number of units approved through permit issuance. Despite a decrease in the total number of units authorized in the month, the 12-month cumulative total of units authorized from September 2023 to August 2024 grew 2.8 percent to 268,200, compared with 260,900 units authorized from September 2022 to August 2023.