Apartments make up for weaker single-family construction in December

OTTAWA — Canadian municipalities issued $8.8 billion worth of building permits in December, StatCan has reported, up 6.0% from November and the fourth consecutive monthly increase. The gain was largely due to higher construction intentions for multi-family dwellings and commercial buildings, with both components hitting record highs. The value of building permits for single-family dwellings was down 5.4% to $2.0 billion. Four provinces posted declines, most notably Ontario, which reported its lowest value since March 2014.