Value of buildings permits up for third straight month in March: StatsCan

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says municipalities issued $6.5 billion worth of building permits in March, up 8.6 per cent from February.

The federal agency says March provided the third consecutive monthly advance, which came mostly from the non-residential sector in Ontario and Alberta.

The value of non-residential building permits rose 19 per cent to $2.8 billion, a second consecutive monthly gain.

In the residential sector, the value of permits increased 1.7 per cent to $3.6 billion after an 8.1 per cent decline in February.

In the institutional component, the value of permits more than doubled to $980 million in March, following a 28.1 per cent increase in February.

The value of permits issued in the commercial sector totalled $1.4 billion, down 9.6 per cent from February.