The Canadian Press

Municipalities issued $5.7 billion in building permits in January, a 4.9 per cent decline from December.

That’s still 32.7 per cent higher than January 2009.

Statistics Canada blames the month-to-month decline on a substantial drop in non-residential building intentions.

Contractors took out $1.7 billion in non-residential permits in January, a 21 per cent decline from December largely due to a drop in the commercial component.

An increase in permits for single-family dwellings more than offset a decline in multi-family dwellings as the value of residential permits rose 4.1 per cent to $4 billion.

That’s almost twice the value registered in January 2009.

The total value of construction intentions fell in five provinces and two territories in January, led by Alberta and British Columbia.