Building permits rise in December

The value of building permits rose by 11.0 percent to $13.1 billion in December, StatCan reports. The increase was led by a 21.2 percent increase in the residential sector, largely due to gains in Ontario and British Columbia. While multi-family dwellings were the main driver of growth, permits for single-family construction rose in value by 1.8 percent to $2.9 billion.