(Adds details from report)
OTTAWA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The value of Canadian building
permits rose far more than expected in October, led by a surge
in activity in Alberta ahead of planned changes to the
province's building code, data from Statistics Canada showed on
Tuesday.
Permits jumped 9.1 percent after two consecutive months of
decline, easily topping economists' forecasts for a gain of 3.2
percent.
A 15.5 percent increase in residential building permits was
responsible for the gain on a national level, fueled by a 35.4
percent increase in plans for multi-family dwellings. Building
plans for single-family homes edged down 0.3 percent.
In Alberta, where the economy has been hit by the slump in
oil prices, the value of total building permits soared to a
record high of C$2.2 billion ($1.62 billion) amid an increase in
construction intentions for multi-family, institutional and
commercial buildings.
The hefty gain was largely attributable to contractors
applying for permits ahead of the start of November, when the
transition for implementing Alberta's new building code ended,
the agency said.
Nationally, non-residential construction intentions slipped
0.2 percent, with fewer plans for warehouses, office buildings
and hotels and restaurants. But Alberta bucked the trend with a
large increase, partially offsetting the overall decline.
($1 = 1.3581 Canadian)
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Graphic - Canada building permits: http://link.reuters.com/det73t
Graphic - Canada economic dashboard: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>