(Ottawa) The total value of building permits in Canada increased significantly to reach 12.8 billion in April compared to the previous month, up 20.5%, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
In Quebec, the increase was 9.7%, to 2.1 billion. It should be noted that there was a decline of 6% on the residential side, to 1.2 billion, offset by an increase of 40.8% on the non-residential side, to 923 million.
In the country, construction intentions in the residential sector increased by 21% to reach 8 billion.
The growth observed in the residential sector was mainly attributable to the multi-family housing component, which increased by 32.6% to an all-time high of $5.4 billion. At the same time, the single-family housing component posted a slight increase of 2.4% to stand at 2.6 billion.
The non-residential sector in the country grew by 19.6% to $4.8 billion.
In British Columbia, the total monthly value of building permits ($3.1 billion) reached a record high, and the province led monthly increases in both the residential and non-residential sectors in Canada.
In the Maritimes, the total value of building permits in New Brunswick increased 33.1% in April from the previous month, reaching $241 million. The increase was 44.2% in Nova Scotia, to 344 million, while Prince Edward Island showed a decrease of 22.5%, to 52.6 million.