Statistics
Canada reported on Monday that the value of building permits issued by Canadian
municipalities plunged by 11.7 per cent m-o-m in March, following a downwardly
revised 8.9 per cent m-o-m climb (from +9.3 per cent m-o-m) in February. This
marked the sharpest fall since April 2023 (-20.3 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had forecast
a 4.6 per cent decrease in March from the previous month.
According to
the report, the value of residential building permits fell 8.3 per cent m-o-m
in March, reflecting a 9.0 per cent m-o-m drop in permits for multi-family
dwellings and a 7.4 per cent m-o-m decline in single-family permits. Meanwhile, the value of non-residential permits plummeted 16.7
per cent m-o-m in March, as a 46.1 per cent
m-o-m plunge in industrial permits combined with a 22.2 per cent m-o-m fall in
institutional permits more than offset a 5.8 per cent m-o-m increase in commercial
permits.
In y-o-y terms,
building permits were down 15.2 per cent in March.