June 16, 2023 – The total monthly value of building permits in Canada dropped 18.8% to $9.6 billion in April 2023, the lowest level since December 2020, reports Statistics Canada.

Following a record high in March 2023, the total monthly value of non-residential permits fell 34.6% to $3.4 billion in April. The drop was observed across all components but was most pronounced in commercial (-40.2%, -$1.1 billion) and industrial (-49.6%, -$663.8 million) construction intentions.

The average industrial permit was valued at $413,000 in April compared to $1.7 million in March. The significantly lower average permit values show that the monthly declines in April are attributed to exceptionally high volumes of large-scale projects in March, Statistics Canada suggests.

The total monthly value of residential permits declined 6.1% to $6.1 billion, sliding for the second consecutive month. Declines were posted for both the single-family and multi-dwelling components.

Ontario (-10.5%, -$296.4 million) contributed greatly to the monthly decrease in residential.

Meantime, British Columbia (+2.6%, +$35.1 million) and Saskatchewan (+45.0%, +$15.2 million) were the only provinces to post monthly growth in residential construction intentions.