Canadian building permits jump in April

Ottawa -- The total value of Canadian building permits surged 14.5 percent to $6.4 billion in April over March, the Statistics Canada agency reported Thursday.

The agency said after a 4.5 percent dip in March, construction intentions rose in all provinces and in both the residential and non-residential sectors.

In the residential sector, the value of building permits increased 13.4 percent to $4 billion, largely driven by multi-family dwelling permits.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits increased 16.5 percent to $2.4 billion, StatsCan said.

Regionally, the most significant overall monetary increase was in the province of Ontario, which recorded a 12.5 percent gain to $2.4 billion, the report said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.