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The number of residential building permits issued in June ticked up slightly from May, but the overall value fell 1.8 per cent to $6.9 billion, a dip that comes after several months of steady growth in the construction sector.

The data, released Aug. 9 by Statistics Canada, showed the value decline was largely driven by Ontario, which experienced a significant drop of 11.4 per cent, or $358.1 million. The decline was noteworthy given the province had exhibited strong growth in May, primarily due to the initiation of large multi-unit projects.

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Saskatchewan and New Brunswick also experienced large declines of 51.4 per cent ($58.5 million) and 20.5 per cent ($20.7 million), respectively. These provinces faced challenges that impacted their housing permit activity, contributing to the overall decrease in the national figures.

On a more optimistic note, the report highlighted that despite these declines, there were gains in the remaining seven provinces. This suggests the slowdown is not uniform across the country.

“Across Canada, permits for 22,000 new dwellings were issued in June,” the release said. This figure surpasses the permit count from May by a margin of 500 additional permits.”

• Email: shcampbell@postmedia.com