Canada Building Permits Fall More than Expected

The value of building permits in Canada fell 14.6 percent from a month earlier to CAD 8.2 billion in October of 2020, following an upwardly revised 18.6 percent rise in the prior month and compared with market expectations of a 5 percent decline. This mainly reflected notable decreases in Newfoundland and Labrador (-55.2 percent), Prince Edward Island (-27.2 percent) and Ontario (-23.9 percent). The total value of non-residential permits slumped 29.5 percent to CAD 2.5 billion, led by commercial (-40.9 percent); industrial (-19.8 percent) and institutional segments (-9.9 percent). Meantime, residential permits decreased 5.9 percent to CAD 5.7 billion, as permits issued for multi-family dwellings tumbled 9.0 percent to CAD 3.0 billion and those for single-family dwellings declined 2.2 percent to CAD 2.7 billion.