Residential permits rise in eight provinces

December 10, 2020

While the total value of residential permits in Canada decreased 5.9 per cent to $5.7 billion in October 2020 after a record high in September, the value of residential permits continued to show strength, according to Statistics Canada.
Excluding Ontario (down 9.4 per cent) and British Columbia (down 12 per cent) the rest of Canada reported a slight increase in permits for October compared to September.
Following five consecutive monthly gains throughout the pandemic, permits issued for single-family dwellings declined 2.2 per cent to $2.7 billion in October.
Declines were reported in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick. Nova Scotia posted the largest gain (up 26 per cent) as the city of Halifax cleared up a previous backlog of permits.
Permits issued for multi-family dwellings dropped 9 per cent to $3 billion, with Ontario (down 10 per cent) and British Columbia (down 18.2 per cent) recording the most significant declines. Conversely, Nova Scotia (up 79.5 per cent) recorded the largest increase, Statistics Canada reports.