• Building permit values in Canada's residential sector increased 8.5% to $4.1 billion, with much of the gain coming from multi-family dwelling permits (in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan) which increased 22.0%.
• In the non-residential sector, permit values rose in the institutional sector by 69.4% to $945 million, but fell in the commercial and industrial component by 12.4% and 4.5% respectively.
• The May report revealed that 17 of 34 metropolitan areas from the Canada’s census experienced a rise in total value of permits.

From the article:

Municipalities issued building permits worth $7.0 billion in May, a 7.4% increase from April and the highest level since May 2007. The increase followed a 4.4% decline in April.

The gain in May was largely the result of higher construction intentions for institutional buildings in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and for multi-family dwellings in British Columbia. ...