Saskatchewan bucks national trend, permits increase

July 07, 2010

Regina Leader-Post (July 7, 2010)

Saskatchewan was one of three provinces to see the value of building permits increase in May, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

Saskatchewan and B.C. posted the largest gains in the value of building permits issued in May, mainly the result of increases in institutional and multi-family permits, StatsCan said.  In P.E.I., the only other province to see permit values rise, the increase came from the residential sector and the institutional component in the non-residential sector.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, building permits in Saskatchewan were up by 16 per cent between April and May, the second highest percentage increase among the provinces.  Non-residential construction also picked up, increasing 30.4 per cent between April and May.

Building permits were up by 18.4 per cent in May compared with May 2009 -- the fifth highest year-over-year increase in the nation on a percentage basis. During this same period, permits were up by 101.8 per cent in Saskatoon and 42.2 per cent in Regina.

"Building permits are tracking very well in 2010 when compared with last year and the significant improvements in Saskatoon and Regina will definitely have a positive impact on the Saskatchewan economy this year," Enterprise Minister Jeremy Harrison said in a news release.

Nationally, the value of building permits fell by a much-larger-than expected 10.8 per cent in May from April, slipping to $6 billion, the federal agency said.

Statistics Canada said the value of residential permits fell 5.3 per cent to $3.7 billion as a result of a decline in the single-family component, while the value of non-residential permits fell 18.3 per cent to $2.3 billion. The industrial component, however, rose 47.1 per cent to $644 million, the fifth consecutive monthly increase.

The decline in May follows two previous monthly increases, Statistics Canada said.  At the metropolitan level, the total value of permits fell in 18 of the 34 census metropolitan areas.  Edmonton, Calgary and Windsor experienced the biggest declines, while Montreal, Vancouver and St. Catharines-Niagara were the top advancers.