By Robb M. Stewart


OTTAWA--Canadian building permits were up strongly for a second month running in February, with further growth in plans for both residential and non-residential construction.

The total value of building permits climbed 9.3% from the month before to a seasonally adjusted 11.75 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of $8.66 billion, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The increase was well ahead of the 4.5% drop expected by economists, according to TD Securities. It follows a downwardly revised 12.9% jump in the value of permits in January.

On a constant dollar basis, the value of permits was up 8.5% in February after an increase the month before, the data agency said

On a year-over-year basis, the nominal value of permits issued in February was 9.1% higher.

Building permits provide an early indication of construction activity in Canada and are based on a survey of 2,400 municipalities, representing 95% of the country's population. The issuance of a permit doesn't guarantee that construction is imminent.

Housing starts climbed 14% in February, though the six-month trend is for a slight 0.4% gain, data released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. showed. The national housing agency has forecast starts will fall this year after reaching historically high levels in recent years, reflecting the lagging impact of higher interest rates on new construction.

Statistics Canada said construction intentions in the residential sector were up 7.4% from the previous month to C$7.08 billion, with permits to build multifamily dwellings 6.0% higher and intentions for single-family homes up 9.6%.

Ontario was the biggest driver of the rise in value of both single-family and multi-family permits, with gains also noted in the provinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta.

Permits for nonresidential buildings increased 12.3% to C$4.68 billion, largely thanks to industrial projects that included permits for the construction of a new batter plant in southern Ontario, a new dairy processing facility in British Columbia, a new pea processing plant in Saskatchewan and the expansion of an aluminum smelting operation in Quebec, the agency said.


Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-10-24 0904ET