By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canadian building permits issued in January by municipalities surged to a record, as companies look to construct single-family homes to meet demand for larger residential spaces.

The total value of building permits in January climbed 8.2% to a seasonally adjusted 9.90 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $7.84 billion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The previous record level was C$9.60 billion in April 2019. Market expectations were for a 1% increase in January, according to economists at Bank of Nova Scotia.

December's data were revised to show a slightly bigger decline than previously believed. Statistics Canada now says permits issued fell 4.4%, versus the original 4.1% estimate.

On a year-over-year basis, the overall value of permits issued rose 6.4%.

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.

Statistics Canada said the value of residential permits jumped 10.6% in January to C$7.07 billion, the majority of the rise was attributable to single-family homes. Much of the gain in this category came from regions outside of major urban centers, as people adjust to a post-pandemic environment in which working from home will become mainstream.

Permits for multifamily units like condominiums rose 6.5%.

Permits associated with nonresidential construction rose 2.6% to C$2.83 billion.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-03-21 0911ET