B.C. is bucking the national trend of declining residential building permits, according to Statistics Canada data released August 5.
The value of building permits in Canada nudged up 6.5% in June as an increase in non-residential activity offset a decline in residential permits.
However, building permit values in B.C. surged 15.1% in June compared with May largely on the strength of residential projects.
Residential building permit values in B.C. spiked 26.2% in June compared with May while residential building permit values fell 4.5% nationally.
Non-residential building permit values soared 23.5% across Canada in June compared with May, but in B.C. they declined 5.4%.
The growth in the value of Metro Vancouver’s building permits was stronger than many other Canadian cities.
The value of building permits in B.C.’s largest metropolitan area grew 12.6% while the average growth among 35 major centres across Canada was 3.2%. The value of building permits grew 2% in Montreal while declining 15.3% in Toronto.