It’s been a couple years since we have been able to say that the residential construction market in this province was a source of optimism. The industry has slugged through some challenging times, a situation that has claimed some players and weakened others.
But we’re not alone.
When builders in Saskatchewan assessed their prospects and began cutting back on starts, others in the country were still in expansion mode. But the latest figures on building permits suggest virtually all of Canada is now following Saskatchewan.
The value of residential construction permits issued by local governments nationally fell more than four-percent in the year that ended in July. That is more modest than our nine-percent reduction and a far cry from the 20-percent in Newfoundland and 17 points in BC. Even Ontario and Quebec posted declines in the past year as the glow is off this sector from one coast to the other.
The situation is less clear in the non-residential sector. We’re down 20-percent while Manitoba and New Brunswick saw gains of nearly 40 points in the past year.
