With fewer construction projects planned in both the residential and non-residential sectors, the value of building permits across Canada declined in August by more than 21%, with all provinces except British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador showing decreases, reports CBC News.
The August drop comes after a 21.4% increase in July.
“With this decline, the trend in the value of building permits has become relatively flat since the beginning of 2013,” Statistics Canada said in its release of the numbers. The value of building permits issued in August was $6.3 billion.
Non-residential permits, which included commercial, industrial and institutional buildings, saw the biggest decline, dropping 37.9% to $2.4 billion, the lowest level since February. The residential sector decreased only 5.4% to $3.9 billion.
The commercial sector was hit especially hard, declining 45.8% to $2.6 billion, with declines seen in all types of projects, including office buildings, retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and recreational facilities.
