Residential building permits tumble

June 8, 2021

The total value of residential building permits issued in Canada during April 2021 decreased from March, and was led by double-digit declines in Quebec and British Columbia, according to Statistics Canada.
More than $7.7 billion in residential permits were issued nationally in April—down 6.7 per cent from a record high of more than $8 billion in March. Still, April posted the second-highest monthly residential permits in history.
Month-over-month declines in B.C. (down 23.7 per cent) and Quebec (down nearly 15 per cent) contributed most to the downturn.
Eight provinces reported a decline in the value of permits issued for single-family dwellings, with the national total down 7 per cent to $3.6 billion—mainly as a result of fewer new projects in Ontario and Quebec.
B.C.’s residential construction permits dropped 23.7 per cent from a month earlier; though, at more than $1.1 billion for the month, residential still accounted for the bulk of the $1.5 billion in total April permits.
In contrast, Alberta’s 9.8 per cent increase in building permits, month-over-month, was led by a surge in residential sector increases to 15.5 per cent from March to $909 million. For the year, Alberta residential building permits are up 100 per cent from April 2020.
Saskatchewan’s April building permits increased 16.1 per cent from March—the largest month-over-month increase in the West—led by a 38.7 per cent rise in non-residential construction. Provincial permits totalled $147 million in April—up 74.9 per cent from April 2020.
Manitoba, which saw total building permits rise 30 per cent year-over-year in April, suffered a 7 per cent decline month-over-month to an April tally of 292.4 million.