Statistics Canada announced on Wednesday that the value of building permits issued by the Canadian municipalities climbed 8.2 percent m-o-m in January 2021, following a revised 4.4 percent m-o-m drop in December 2020 (originally a decline of 4.1 percent m-o-m).

Economists had forecast a 3.5 percent increase in January from the previous month.

According to the report, the value of residential permits surged 10.6 percent m-o-m in January, as single-family permits jumped 15.1 percent m-o-m, while permits for multi-family dwellings rose 6.5 percent m-o-m.

At the same time, the value of non-residential building permits increased 2.6 percent m-o-m in January, due to gains in industrial (+31.7 percent m-o-m) and commercial (+3.3 percent m-o-m) permits, which, however, were partially offset by a decline in institutional permits (-11.8 percent m-o-m).

In y-o-y terms, building permits rose 6.4 percent in January.