Ontario Construction News staff writer
Building permits for Ontario’s Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sectors reached an all-time high in 2021 of $15.9 billion, the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) says in a recent bulletin, based on Statistics Canada data.
The overall numbers were slightly higher than the pre-pandemic 2019 numbers, and increased by 8 per cent compared to 2020 (or $1.18 billion).
“Permit values increased overall in 2021 in all three ICI sectors in Ontario,” OCS said in its Feb. 4 report. “Industrial permit values increased by 20.7% (+$578 million) compared to 2020, while institutional permit values increased by 14.2% (+$419 million). In the commercial sector, 2021 permit values were up by 2.1% over 2020, an increase of $185 million.”
OCS says ICI permit values increased in all but five of Ontario’s 16 metropolitan areas compared to 2020.
Increases in year-over-year permit values were observed in Barrie (+56.2%), Belleville (+37.5%), Guelph (+17.1%), Hamilton (+50.3%), London (+38.2%), Oshawa (+69.1%), Peterborough (+71.3%), St. Catharines-Niagara (+24.8%), Thunder Bay (+154.8), Toronto (+5.3%) and Windsor (+7.9%). ICI permit values declined in 2021 in Brantford (-7.0%), Greater Sudbury (-22.9%), Kingston (-11.3%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (-6.6%) and Ottawa (-41.3%).
OCS says that in some mnicpalities, major increases or decreases at the metro level are related to unusual numbers in 2020. As an example, permit values in Ottawa increased dramatically in 2020 compared to 2019 because of several major projects. While these projects are now underway, the result is a significant decline in 2021’s permit numbers.
“The inverse was the case in metro areas like Thunder Bay, Peterborough and Belleville,” OCS says. “It should also be noted that Statistics Canada has advised that the building permit data for Barrie, Brantford and Greater Sudbury be used with caution.”