Canadian building intentions sank 10.4% in August, after sliding 0.4% in July, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
This was the second consecutive monthly decline with both the residential and the non-residential sector contributing to the decrease.
Many economists had expected building intentions to rise by 0.3% in July.
The value of permits issued by municipalities in the non-residential sector plunged 16.6% to C$2.3 billion in August, after dropping 4.0% in July. Ontario and Saskatchewan were the biggest contributors to the decline.
Emanuella Enenajor, an economist at CIBC World Markets, said Thursday’s report, ''taken together with August’s easing in housing starts, hints that home-building in Canada is starting to shift into lower gear.''
