January 27, 2024 – The total monthly value of building permits in Canada decreased 3.9% from October 2023 to $10.9 billion in November, reports Statistics Canada, with declines posted across almost all building types.

All three non-residential components—industrial, commercial, institutional—declined, with the commercial component decreasing for the third consecutive month, down 3.5% from October.

Permit values in the commercial component have been trending down since the record high of $2.9 billion in March 2023, notes Statistics Canada. Year over year, the $1.7-billion value of commercial permits issued in November 2023 was 16.2% lower than November 2022 levels.

Despite eight provinces showing monthly gains in residential construction intentions, the total value of residential permits declined 2.8% overall to $7.0 billion in November 2023.

British Columbia (-19.4%, -$249.3 million) and Quebec (-17.3%, -$231.0 million) both saw month-over-month declines in the multi-unit component, which more than offset the residential gains in the rest of the country in November 2023.

The Atlantic provinces collectively increased 30.0% in residential permit values to $421.8 million in November, the highest monthly value for the region in the first 11 months of 2023.

Similarly, the Prairie provinces ($1.4 billion) posted their highest monthly level in the first 11 months of 2023, up 9.8% from October.

To round out residential construction intentions in November, the territories increased 10.6% to $7.4 million, while Ontario edged up 2.1% to $3.0 billion.