Value falls everywhere except Quebec, Nfld.
Province
Experts say the pace of commercial building activity in Canada is throttling back quickly as the economy cools.
OTTAWA — The value of Canadian building permits dropped 15.7 per cent to $5.4 billion in October, Statistics Canada said yesterday.
“Construction intentions fell in both the residential and non-residential sectors, and in all provinces except Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador,” the federal agency said.
Building permit values fell in eight provinces in October, the agency said.
The biggest declines were in Ontario, which saw a 24.8-percent drop to $1.8 billion, Saskatchewan, which plunged 58.7 per cent to $138 million, and Alberta, which posted a 17.5-per-cent drop to $844 million.
Those declines were mainly in the non-residential sector, Statistics Canada said.
“In contrast, all three provinces recorded increases of at least 10 per cent in September,” it said.
Meanwhile, Quebec saw values rise 8.5 per cent to $1.3 billion, led by construction permits in industrial and institutional buildings, the agency said. “Newfoundland and Labrador also reported an increase as a result of gains in commercial intentions.”
Overall, non-residential permits fell 23.9 per cent to $2.4 billion in October — reversing a 41-per-cent rise in the previous month.
“October’s decrease occurred mainly as a result of a decline in non-residential components in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta,” the agency said.
Single-family permits declined six per cent to $2.0 billion, the fourth straight monthly drop.
“It is clear that the pace of both housing activity and commercial building activity is quickly throttling back as the economy cools. Though the magnitude of the declines in October are unlikely to continue . . . the trend is certainly well entrenched,” said Charmaine Buskas, economics strategist at TD Securities.
“This suggests that building activity will not contribute to growth as the correction continues to unfold.”
