Building permits rise 46%: Statscan

CENSUS • The Calgary census metropolitan area experienced one of the largest increases in the country in February in the total value of building permits.

Statistics Canada reported Thursday that permits rose to $445.4 million in the Calgary region, up 46.4 per cent from the previous month.

“In Calgary, the advance was primarily the result of building permits for residential construction and commercial and institutional buildings,” said the federal agency. However, compared with February 2011, total permit value was off by 52.8 per cent.

In Alberta, total permits of $1.1 billion in February were up 22.0 per cent on a monthly basis but down 22.7 per cent year-overyear.

The residential sector was $654 million in the province, representing a 12.4 per cent hike from January and a 50.3 per cent jump from February 2011. The non-residential sector was $488.4 million, up 37.6 per cent on a monthly basis but down 53.2 per cent on an annual basis.

Across Canada, the federal agency said the total value of permits rose 7.5 per cent to $6.5 billion in February. That was 11.7 per cent higher than a year ago.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits increased 36.2 per cent to $2.5 billion.