Canada Building Permits Rise for 2nd Month

The value of building permits in Canada rose 6.2 percent from a month earlier to CAD 8.1 billion in June 2020, following an upwardly revised 21.6 percent gain in the previous month, as the CAD 687 million Oakridge Centre mixed use redevelopment project in the city of Vancouver helped raise the total national value of building permits to a level comparable to pre-COVID levels. The total value of residential permits increased 7 percent to CAD 5.3 billion, with gains posted in six provinces. The value of permits for single-family homes advanced 6.6 percent to CAD 2.1 billion and for multi-family dwellings rose for the third consecutive month (7.3 percent to CAD 3.2 billion) due to major projects in the census metropolitan area of Vancouver. Also, non-residential permits went up 4.6 percent to CAD 2.7 billion, boosted by institutional permits (47.7 percent to CAD 841 million). On a quarterly basis, the value of permits dropped 17.4 percent compared to the same period of 2019.