October 4, 2021
Today, Statistics Canada released building permit data for August, which shows that ICI permit values in Ontario fell by 1.1% compared to July. Year-to-date (January-August), Ontario’s ICI permit values were up by 9.0% over last year, while industrial permit values were up by 21.5%, and institutional permits up by 27.0%. Commercial permit values in the January-August period were down by 0.5% in Ontario compared to last year. This is an improvement however compared to last month, when year-to-date commercial permit values were down by 7.4% year-over-year. Strong commercial permitting in Ontario in August helped to lift the year-to-date permit total closer to 2020 levels.
While compared to 2020, Ontario’s January-August ICI permit values were up by 9.0% this year, the province’s ICI permit values were down by 1.0% so far in 2021 (January-August) compared to the same point in 2019. Permit values in 2021 were also down in Ontario’s industrial sector compared to 2019. In Ontario’s commercial and institutional sectors, permit values in the January-August 2021 period were both above 2019 levels.
Ontario’s commercial permit values increased for a third consecutive month in August, reaching $892 million, the sector’s highest monthly permit total since November 2020. These month-over-month increases followed a 33.0% drop-off that occurred between April and May of this year. In Ontario’s institutional and commercial sectors, permit values fell significantly in August compared to July. Institutional permit values were down by 31.3% month-over-month, with industrial down 23.8%.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Katherine Jacobs
Director of Research
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 222
F 416.620.5310
kjacobs@iciconstruction.com
