Canadian Building Permits - February 7, 2012

Canadian building permits ended the year up 11.1 per cent from November and reached their highest level since June 2007. Permitting activity was driven by a 16.1 per cent increase in residential permits, though non-residential permits were also higher in December. 

Construction intentions in BC did not follow the strong National trend, posting a decline of 16 per cent following a November that saw permits rise 31.5 per cent.  On a year-over-year basis, construction intentions were 27 per cent higher in December.  December permit activity was lower in all four of BC major metropolitan areas with Victoria posting the largest monthly decline. Notably, permit volume was lower on a year-over-year basis in all markets except Vancouver which was 74 per cent higher – signalling some potentially weak new construction activity outside of the Vancouver metro area in 2012.