StatsCan building permits report: April 2021

The total value of building permits remained at historically high levels in April 2021, edging down 0.5% to $11.1 billion, following the record set in March. The slight pullback was mainly due to declines in the residential sector in British Columbia and Quebec, which outweighed national gains in the non-residential sector.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), building permits were largely unchanged (-0.0%).

Residential sector remains strong despite decrease in April

In the residential sector, the value of building permits fell 6.7% to $7.7 billion in April. Despite the decrease, this was the second highest value on record. British Columbia (-23.7%) and Quebec (-14.9%) accounted for most of this decline.

The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings dropped 6.5% to $4.1 billion. Gains in Ontario and Alberta were not enough to offset decreases in British Columbia and Quebec, where several large permits had been issued (in both provinces) during the previous month.

Eight provinces reported a decline in the value of permits issued for single-family dwellings, with the national total down 7.0% to $3.6 billion, mainly as a result of fewer new projects in Ontario and Quebec.