Building permits tick down by 1.9% in May

The value of Canadian building permits unexpectedly fell in May, inching down 1.9 per cent from April's level to $6.8 billion.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that lowered construction intentions for commercial buildings in Ontario and Quebec contributed to the decrease. Reduced construction intentions for single-family homes in Ontario were also a factor.

Declines for residential permits were recorded in seven provinces, led by Ontario, followed distantly by New Brunswick and British Columbia.

Property owners must apply for building permits with their local government any time they plan to expand or renovate their properties, and give a dollar figure for the value of the work being proposed.

The building permits figure is considered a leading indicator of the economy because it's a gauge of confidence in the economy — property owners don't tend to spend money to renovate real estate unless they think it's worth it.

The value of residential building permits was down 1.1 per cent to $4.3 billion. Commercial permits were down by even more — off 15.6 per cent from April's level to $1.2 billion.

Industrial permits edged up 0.6 per cent to $384 million and institutional permits were up 20.3 per cent to $842 million.

Across all categories, the value of building permits was down in 16 of 34 census metropolitan areas. The largest declines were registered in Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton.