OTTAWA–Contractors took out $4.8 billion in building permits in November, an 11.8 per cent drop from October in the face of widespread declines in both the residential and non-residential sectors.

It was the third double-digit decrease in four months.

Statistics Canada reports that construction intentions fell in all provinces except Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

The agency says November's level, the lowest since February 2007, was 22.6 per cent below last year's monthly average.

The value of non-residential permits fell 15.2 per cent to $2.1 billion, the second straight monthly decrease – driven largely by declines in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

The value of residential building permits declined nine per cent to $2.7 billion, the lowest level since January 2005.

Intentions declined for both single- and multi-family permits. Ontario and British Columbia registered the largest decreases in both sectors.

The value of building permits issued by municipalities from January to November totalled $65.7 billion, down 3.9 per cent from the total for the first 11 months of 2007.