The decline was the result of lower construction intentions for residential buildings, following a strong May. Multi-family dwellings accounted for the majority of the decline while the non-residential sector did see increases. The value of industrial permits rose 5.3% to $603 million, a third consecutive monthly increase. The industrial permit gain in June was largely the result of a few high-value permits issued for agricultural and manufacturing buildings in Ontario.
When the results are examined on an annualized basis - that is June 2017 to June 2018, the total value of permits in Canada was down 5.6 percent with residential permits down 1.5 percent and non-residential down 12.4 percent. The biggest drop on the non-residential side was for institutional permits which fell 31.1 percent. When Canada's CMAs are ranked for the June 2017 to June 2018 period (see Figure below), the range is from a high of 202 percent for Moncton to a low of -72 percent for Regina.
With respect to northern Ontario, Thunder Bay saw a decline of 13.9 percent and Greater Sudbury a drop of 43,6 percent in the total value of permits. Even the GTA and central Ontario area saw a decline with Toronto down 16.5 percent and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo down 46 percent.
Interestingly, despite the weakening in intentions for new construction, the unemployment rate continues to fare well. Statistics Canada also reported this week that the July unemployment rate in Canada was down to 5.8 percent with annualized employment growth. With respect to northern Ontario, Sudbury's unemployment rate (3-month seasonally adjusted moving average) fell from 6.8 percent in June to 6.6 percent in July even though its total employment fell from 80,500 to 80,400 jobs. Meanwhile Thunder Bay's unemployment rate fell from 5.1 percent in June to 5 percent in July while its employment level rose from 64,900 to 65,000.