June 16, 2008

British Columbia and Alberta lead country in growth of construction intentions

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

B.C. and Alberta are among the leading provinces in the country in terms of the growth of construction intentions in April, according to a Statistics Canada report released this month.

The value of building permits in B.C. increased by 13.5 per cent to about $1.078 billion in April from $949 million in March.

The non-residential sector increased strongly (34.8 per cent) in April, while the residential sector experienced moderate growth of 4.6 per cent.

The geographic distribution in the growth of construction intentions varied in B.C., with Abbotsford increasing 60 per cent, Vancouver 15.9 per cent and Kelowna 4 per cent. Victoria declined by 20.6 per cent.

“This significant jump in permits is great news and points to the strength of our construction industry and economy,” said Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

“In particular, the large increase in commercial permits indicates the industry is relatively unaffected by outside forces such as the U.S. economic slowdown.”

According to the VCRA, commercial permits are up 392 per cent to $83.7 million in the first four months of 2008 compared with last year and reached a record high of $57.3 million in April, outpacing the previous monthly high of $16.7 million.

The value of building permits in Alberta increased by 11.7 per cent to about $1.109 billion in April from $993 million in March.

The non-residential sector experienced moderate growth (4.4 per cent) in April, while the residential sector grew by 18.5 per cent.

Calgary construction intention grew by 29.6 per cent, while Edmonton increased by 7.6 per cent.

Contractors in Canada took out $6.4 billion worth of permits in April — an increase of 14 per cent from March and the highest level since October 2007.

In the residential sector, the value of building permits increased 13.4 per cent to $4 billion, the highest value in six months.

The increase was generated by a strong gain in the value of multi-family permits.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits advanced 16.5 per cent to $2.4 billion, due to strong commercial intentions.

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