April experienced the biggest drop since the 2008 financial crisis
The total value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities plunged 17.1% month-over-month to $6.0 billion in April, the first full month of the country-wide COVID-19 lockdown.
According to Statistics Canada, the number represents the biggest decline since a similar drop during the global financial crisis in October 2008. And when combined with the March decline, the value of building permits issued declined by 28.1% from February levels.
Declines were reported in eight provinces, with Quebec experiencing the largest decline (-34.1%) as the province suspended all non-essential construction activity during its lockdown in April.
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The total value of residential permits was down in nine provinces in April, falling 14.2% to $3.9 billion nationally. Permits issued for single family dwellings fell 35.9% to $1.4 billion, a record month-over-month decline and almost double the next largest decrease.
On the other hand, multi-family dwellings showed an increase at the national level in April, up 4.8% to $2.6 billion. Increased building intentions in the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa led to gains in British Columbia (+66.8%) and Ontario (+13.9%), which more than offset declines in six provinces.
Meanwhile, the value of commercial permits was down 21.5% to $1.2 billion in April with the largest decline reported in Quebec (-56.6%), setting another record month-over-month percentage decrease for the province. Additionally, industrial permits fell 34.7% to $377 million following gains in March, with declines posted in six provinces.
StatCan revealed the numbers as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), in a special housing market outlook report, projected that housing starts “could decline by as much as 75% from the Q1 2020 level before starting to recover by the second half of 2021.”
CMHC pointed to “severe disruptions to the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic” for its projections, having placed “unprecedented pressures on employment, incomes, migration and financial markets.”
