Ontario’s ICI Building Permit Activity – Mid-Year Update

August 7, 2019

Ontario’s ICI Building Permit Activity – Mid-Year Update

ICI Building Permit Activity–Mid-Year Update

Ontario’s ICI permit values so far this year (January-May) are up by 12% compared to the same period in 2018. ICI permit values, at $5.5 billion, are also higher at this point in the year than in any year previously. Commercial permit values in the January-May period have increased by 6% year-over-year, while institutional permits in Ontario are up by 15%, and industrial permits up by 23%.

Ten of Ontario’s sixteen metropolitan areas saw their ICI permit values increase year-over-year in the January-May period. Permit values have more than doubled in Belleville (+192%), Kingston (+163%), London (+141%) and Thunder Bay (+178%). There have been double-digit increases in ICI permit values so far this year in Brantford (+42%), Guelph (+54%), Hamilton (+65%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+36%), St. Catharines-Niagara (+70%) and Windsor (14%). In London, ICI permit values amounted to nearly $400 million so far this year, greater than either of the two previous calendar years. This substantial increase is due to a $300 million permit issued for a food processing plant project.

In Barrie, Oshawa and Peterborough, ICI permit values have declined by about half in the January-May period year-over-year. Barrie’s ICI permit values have fallen by 51%, while Oshawa’s are down by 55%, and Peterborough’s by 45%.

ICI permit values have fallen slightly in Ontario’s largest metropolitan areas year-over-year in the January-May period, with a drop of less than 5% in Toronto, and less than 1% in Ottawa. Greater Sudbury’s ICI permit values also fell by less than 5%.

Commercial permit values in Toronto increased by 2%, but both industrial and institutional permit values are at five-year lows thus far, down 27% and 11% respectively. The commercial sector has accounted for 71% of ICI permit values in Toronto so far this year, whereas for the 2018 calendar year, commercial permits amounted to 66%. ICI permits in Toronto account for just under half (46%) of the province’s total ICI permitting over the January-May period, while in the same period last year Toronto’s ICI sector made up 54% of Ontario’s ICI permits.

YTD (January-May 2019) ICI Permit Values for Ontario and Metropolitan Areas

	% Change (Jan-May 2019 over Jan-May 2018) $Millions
	Industrial		Commercial		Institutional		Total ICI
	Value ($M)	Change (%)	Value ($M)	Change (%)	Value ($M)	Change (%)	Value ($M)	Change (%)
Ontario	*1,438.6*	+23.4	*2,954.1*	+5.6	*1,087.8*	+15.2	*5,480.5*	+11.7
Barrie	7.7	-44.8	15.7	-56.9	4.5	-26.3	*27.9*	-50.6
Belleville	10.4	+169.6	13.3	+101.7	13.1	+513.1	*36.8*	+192.1
Brantford	8.1	-37.1	21.5	+60.4	15.1	+184.3	*44.7*	+41.6
Greater Sudbury	18.6	+61.6	16.0	-27.4	37.9	-10.5	*72.6*	-4.5
Guelph	17.9	+76.8	49.7	+75.9	36.3	+25.3	*103.9*	+54.2
Hamilton	144.1	+408.3	105.9	+7.3	73.9	+5.7	*323.9*	+64.5
Kingston	2.4	-80.1	27.8	+164.7	52.3	+494.9	*82.5*	+162.6
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo	63.0	-12.0	151.7	+78.4	40.2	+30.9	*254.9*	+36.1
London	337.2	+853.8	38.8	-60.9	20.3	-31.5	*396.3*	+141.3
Oshawa	5.3	-72.8	33.1	-37.8	8.3	-72.8	*46.8*	-54.8
Ottawa	13.7	+52.4	197.6	-13.1	53.7	+82.9	*265.1*	-0.3
Peterborough	1.0	+258.9	12.4	-31.3	3.5	-71.5	*16.8*	-44.9
St. Catharines-Niagara	25.8	-55.4	189.5	+177.8	8.6	+46.8	*224.0*	+69.9
Thunder Bay	1.8	+325.5	8.5	-24.8	26.0	+1,841.6	*36.3*	+178.3
Toronto	296.1	-27.0	1,792.8	+2.4	429.9	-10.9	*2,518.8*	-4.5
Windsor	20.0	+42.5	41.9	+32.6	16.3	-29.9	*78.3*	+13.8

Source: Statistics Canada

2019 Annual General Meeting & Conference

The 2019 Ontario Construction Secretariat Annual General Meeting & Conference will be held on September 25-26, 2019 at the Blue Mountain Village Conference Centre.

This year’s conference will include a line-up of engaging speakers, networking opportunities and an evening social event overlooking the Village.

Conference attendees will get a 40% discount on mid-week activities at any Blue Mountain Attraction if they mention they are with the “Ontario Construction Secretariat.” If you have any questions, please contact us at info@iciconstruction.com. To register, click on “Registration.”

Bill 66 Update

On June 19th, Toronto city council opted out of Bill 66 choosing to remain a construction employer bound to nine province-wide collective agreements in the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) sector of the construction industry.

Over the past few months, several municipalities and broader public-sector agencies have faced a tough decision about their construction employer status. The Ontario Construction Secretariat provided our stakeholders with factual, unbiased information to counter much of the rhetoric that surrounded this issue. Our report “Just Not Credible” highlighted the misinformation that was being spread by non-union organizations and focused on the many benefits of the unionized ICI construction industry.

You can download the report on the Ontario Construction Secretariat website.