Ontario Construction News staff writer
Statistics Canada reports double-digit gains in building permit values for residential and non-residential sectors in Canada to $12.5 billion, an 11.9 per cent jump in August.
The value of building permits in the multi-family sector also recorded a sharp increase – up 22.2 per cent, attributed primarily to an 85 per cent gain in Ontario. That jump included a $480 million permit for a luxury skyscraper in Toronto and several permits for apartments. The increase pushed values to the third largest monthly value ever in the province.
Also, residential permits increased 12 per cent in August, to $8.4 billion across the country with. construction intentions in single-family-homes up slightly – 0.4 per cent.
Ontario also led the country in non-residential permit values including a new school in Hamilton and a new building for George Brown College in Toronto. A 224 per cent increase in Ontario’s institutional sector spurred a 39 per cent increase nationally.
The value of building permits in the industrial sector reported an increase of 18.1 per cent in August, including $5 million in Saskatchewan and an increase in Nova Scotia.
Commercial sector permits dropped 1.4 per cent, despite Manitoba’s notable growth due to a $50 million permit for an office building in Winnipeg.