OTTAWA, April 7 (UPI) -- The value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities shot up 9.9 percent to $5.8 billion in February, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
The monthly increase from January was a result of a whopping 72.9 percent gain in the value of non-residential permits, primarily in Alberta and Ontario, which more than offset declines in the residential sector, the agency said.
The value of residential permits nationwide fell 18.3 percent to $3 billion in February, while the number of permits issued fell 24.6 percent to 13,488 new dwellings, the report said. Within the residential sector, multi-family dwelling permits fell 36.6 percent to 6,690 units.
"In the institutional component, the value of permits issued by municipalities doubled to $702 million, following four consecutive monthly declines," StatsCan said. "In the commercial component, the value of permits rose 22.6 percent to $1.2 billion."
