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A house under construction in Richmond, B.C., on Wednesday May 16, 2018.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press

The value of Canadian building permits fell by 4.6 per cent in April from March, the biggest decline in five months, on weakness in both the residential and non residential sectors, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.

Statscan revised March’s figures to show a gain of just 1.3 per cent compared to an initial 3.1 per cent rise, in part to reflect late-arriving data.

The value of residential permits declined by 4.3 per cent, pulled down by a 5.2 per cent drop in permits for multi-family dwellings. The value of single-family permits dipped by 3.3 per cent, a fourth consecutive decline, on weakness in Ontario.

The government in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, took a number of steps to rein in the hot Toronto housing market last year.

Permits for non-residential structures fell by 5.2 per cent on lower construction intentions for industrial buildings such as transportation terminals.

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