Canada’s economic teeter-totter was on full display in the latest numbers on building permits issued by local governments across Canada. These figures come from June and show the Prairie provinces were riding high while the remainder of the country was on the downside of the teeter-totter ride.
Saskatchewan municipalities issued building permits valued at more than $125 million dollars in June. That’s 13-percent higher than May and more than 30-percent ahead of the pace we saw in May of last year. Clearly, investor confidence in this region is rising as they step up plans for additional construction activity.
Next door in Manitoba the gain was 16-percent and Alberta’s numbers rose by 25-percent while the rest of Canada was showing declining building permit values.
Here in Saskatchewan, the residential side was finally showing some strength. June’s figures were up 23-percent compared to May – a sizeable increase – but only 9-percent ahead of where they were last year. On the non-residential side, permit values rose five-percent for the month but almost 90-percent ahead of last year.
