Statistics Canada released housing market data on Thursday. Building permits in Canada jumped 15.5% in February, exceeding expectations for a 4.8% rise, after a 9.5% drop in January. January's figure was revised up from a 9.8% decrease.

The increase was driven by a rise in building permits for commercial buildings in Alberta, single-family dwellings in Ontario and institutional structures in Quebec.

Building permits for non-residential construction were up 33.1% in February, while permits in the residential sector climbed 5.0%.