Statistics Canada released housing market data on Thursday. Building permits in Canada declined 0.9% in February, missing expectations for a 5.1% gain, after a 12.3% drop in January. January's figure was revised up from a 12.9% fall.

Building permits for non-residential construction plunged 5.4% in February, while permits in the residential sector rose 1.5%.

Lower non-residential permits were driven by weaker demand in central Canada and Alberta.