OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says municipalities issued $6 billion worth of building permits in April, a 1.1 per cent increase after two consecutive monthly declines.
The agency says the increase was due to higher construction intentions in the residential sector, which more than offset a decline in the non-residential sector.
However, the increase fell short of the four per cent increase that economists had been expecting, according to those surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
The value of residential building permits rose 2.0 per cent to $3.7 billion in April, a second consecutive monthly gain.
Most of the increase came in Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia, while three provinces reported declines, led by British Columbia.
Contractors took out $2.3 billion in non-residential building permits, down 0.4 per cent from March.
Gains in five provinces, led by Quebec, were not enough to offset declines in the other provinces, with British Columbia again recording the largest decrease.
CIBC economist Nick Exarhos said in a brief note to clients that the results follow strong housing starts for April.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimated last month that housing starts in April hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 194,809 units, up from the 156,592 pace set in March.
"So a more muted advance comes a bit of a surprise, though the volatility of this series and a still sizable permit overhang left over from the cold winter makes it easier to digest," Exarhos wrote in a note to clients.
"All told, limited market reaction expected, and Canadian housing should still experience a bit of a pick up from the first quarter after the effects of the unseasonably cold weather roll off."