Ontario was a major contributor to trends in both the residential and non-residential segments
The total value of building permits in Canada declined 6.6% in July to $11.2 billion, mainly due to weakness in the residential sector, which fell by 8.6% to $7.6 billion.
The latest figures from Statistics Canada showed that the drop in residential intentions was largely driven by Ontario (single-family permits down by 13.9%), which significantly outweighed gains in six other provinces. Still, the single-family component was 14.8% higher than July 2021.
The value of multi-family building permits declined by 11.1%, with slowdown registered in six provinces. Ontario accounted for the largest decrease (down by 32.8%).
Read more: Canada housing market – what direction is it headed in?
The non-residential segment also dropped by 2.1% to $3.6 billion in July. Gains in the commercial (up by 0.1%) and institutional components (up by 7.9%) were negated by marked losses in the industrial component (down by 16.9%).
The industrial slowdown was mainly due to Ontario (down by 31.1%), which saw its third consecutive monthly decline, StatCan said.
