Last year was a good one for Saskatchewan’s construction sector.
Year-end figures on the value of building permits issued by local governments across the country showed Saskatchewan investors were a bullish lot compared to most in the nation. The value of building permits is a signal of what the industry can expect in the next year or two on the construction front.
StatsCan’s year-end numbers for 2024 had Saskatchewan permit values rising almost 60-percent compared to 2023. That turned out to be well ahead of the 39-percent posted nationally and second only PEI.
No doubt falling interest rates factor into this equation as the cost of carrying major investments such as a new build were declining through most of 2024. This was especially noticeable in the residential category. Saskatchewan saw a gain in permit values of 80-percent. Two Atlantic provinces topped that figure but the overall national number was 50-percent, considerably lower than our 80-percent growth number.
Non-residential permit values saw an increase of just over 40-percent in the province, ahead of all provinces west of the Maritimes.
