Permits in B.C. running 13.2% ahead of 2005
Ashley Ford
Province
Adding 11 storeys to Vancouver’s Bentall 5 will cost $40 million. Photograph by : Jason Payne, The Province
Construction fever is raging through the B.C. economy, with more than $4.5 billion in building permits alone issued in the first five months of the year.
Permits across B.C. are running 13.2 per cent ahead of last year, driven by vigorous activity in non-residential and residential sectors, Statistics Canada figures released yesterday show.
Residential permits worth $2.98 billion have been issued this year in B.C., up 11.9 per cent from a year ago, the federal agency said.
The non-residential side is also powering ahead, with $1.56 billion in permits being issued — a 15.9-per-cent increase from the same period a year ago.
These buoyant numbers only tell part of the story, as they apply to actual structures and exclude infrastructure projects such as the Sea-to-Sky Highway, Golden Ears Bridge and the Canada Line light-rail transit construction. “What we are seeing in the construction industry is unprecedented in B.C.,” said Keith Sashaw of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.
B.C. government numbers estimate there are $92 billion in projects on the books, Sashaw said.
“The industry is cyclical but we have never seen the depth and scope of the industry at all levels and across all geographic areas of the province that we are seeing now,” he said.
Construction is a huge job spinner.
It’s estimated that every $1 million of construction provides 20-person years of employment, Sashaw said.
“It is a very sweet and strong situation and going forward I can see no reason for change at this point,” said Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Credit Union Central of B.C.
“We will see substantial growth this year.”
And, said Pastrick, “we have yet to start feeling the impact from 2010 Winter Olympics projects.”
The industry’s employment-generating powers go beyond immediate construction jobs, he said.
Constructing large buildings is a complex process that creates jobs in other sectors as it ripples through the economy, he said.
While Western Canada continues to spearhead the country’s economic growth, the rest of the country is faring well, StatsCan said.
May’s level of building permits was the third highest on record, the agency said.
Municipalities issued $5.4 billion worth of building permits in May, up 6.9 per cent from April, driven mainly by activity in the non-residential sector.
The showing was much stronger than the 1.3 per cent rise economists had expected.
It was the sixth straight month of building permit activity above $5 billion and was the third-highest level on record, surpassed only by December and March.
© The Vancouver Province 2006
