MNI DATA IMPACT: Canada Building Permits at 2nd Highest Ever>

--Total August Permits +6.1%; Residential +12%; Non-Residential 

-2.7%

By Greg Quinn and Anahita Alinejad

     OTTAWA (MNI) - Canadian building permits reached the second highest 

level on record in August, led by a major Vancouver housing complex. 

     The dollar value of permits, an indicator of future construction 

activity, rose 6.1% to C$9 billion, faster than the MNI median for a 1% 

increase. The dollar value is second only to April's record C$9.5 

billion when Vancouver developers accelerated projects before a new 

development fee took effect. 

     Vancouver dominated the August report as well. Statistics Canada 

cited a C$282 million permit for a multi-family project in the city. 

That helped boost nationwide multi-family residential permits by 19%, 

and total residential permits by 12% to C$5.7 billion, also the second 

highest on record. 

     The building boom suggests the economy will remain near full 

capacity into the third quarter when most investors say growth will slow 

significantly because of global trade tensions. Canada is also being 

pulled in different directions by a housing boom creating dangers such 

as record consumer debt burdens while business spending remains weak. 

     The overall permits gain was slowed by a 2.7% decline in 

non-residential projects, the second fall in three months. Weak 

business investment has been often been the cause of sluggish growth in 

Canada in recent years.

     Vancouver's housing gains, along with Toronto's, have drawn 

negative attention from policy makers in recent years. New taxes on 

foreign buyers and vacant apartments have been used along with tougher 

mortgage rules to prevent those markets from overheating. 

--MNI Ottawa Bureau +1 613-314-9647; greg.quinn@marketnews.com

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