Canada Building Permits Drop 18.8% in April

By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA--Canadian building permits fell sharply in April, retreating to the lowest level since December 2020 as non-residential permits retreated following the strongest month on record.

The total value of building permits declined 18.8% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 9.55 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $7.11 billion, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Market expectations were for decline of 5% after the data agency last month reported an 11.3% advance in permits for March, according to economists at TD Securities.

On a year-over-year basis, the overall value of permits issued in April was down 19.6%.

Building permits provide an early indication of construction activity in Canada and are based on a survey of 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the country's population. The issuance of a permit doesn't guarantee that construction is imminent.

Permits for nonresidential buildings dropped 34.6% to C$3.44 billion, with a widespread decline most pronounced in commercial and industrial building plans, Statistics Canada said. The fall marked a sharp pullback following a record high in March.

Construction intentions in the residential sector also weakened from the previous month, with permits falling 6.1% to C$6.12 billion, Statistics Canada said. Intentions to build multifamily dwellings were down 7.6%, while intentions for single-family homes declined 3.6%. Residential building intentions were down for eight provinces, led by a sharp fall in Ontario, while British Columbia and Saskatchewan to the west posted monthly growth in construction plans, the data agency said.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-06-23 0859ET