Construction sites in Western Canada will be busy this summer as the value of building permits surged to its highest monthly level ever in May, Statistics Canada reported today.

Municipalities issued a total of $6.8 billion worth of permits, up 21.4% from April and 8.5% higher than the previous high set in October 2006.

More than 15% of the total value in May came from only 15 large projects.

The Calgary and Vancouver metropolitan areas were responsible for nearly 75% of the overall dollar gain in May — the total value of permits would have increased by only 7% without them, instead of 21.4%.

Non-residential permits eclipsed $3 billion for the first time as contractors took out a record $3.1 billion in permits for proposed construction projects, up 55.7% from April and 18.5% higher than the previous record of $2.6 billion set in January.

The value of single-family permits increased, while multi-family permits slipped marginally as municipalities issued $3.7 billion in residential permits, a 2.4% increase from April.