Building permits fell in January

OTTAWA— Statistics Canada says the value of building permits issued fell 12.3 per cent to $6 billion in January, after a 10.5 per cent rise in December.

The agency says there were declines in both the residential and non-residential sectors in January.

Contractors took out $4.2 billion worth of permits in the residential sector, down 6.6 per cent after three consecutive monthly gains.

The decrease was largely the result of lower construction intentions for multi-family dwellings in Ontario.

In the non-residential sector, municipalities issued permits worth $1.8 billion, down 23.1 per cent after a0.3 per cent increase in December.

Construction plans slipped in six provinces, with Alberta accounting for most of the decrease.

The value of building permits for multi-family dwellings decreased 12.4 per cent to $1.7 billion in January, following a 30.8 per cent rise in December.

Municipalities issued $2.5 billion worth of permits for single-family dwellings in January, down 2.2 per cent from December, following three consecutive monthly gains.