The value of new building permits in Canada increased 12.2 per cent in March, from February, to $6.3 billion after four months of decline, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.

The federal agency said that was 38.9 per cent higher than March 2009, mainly on the strength of multi-family and industrial building permits.

The total value of permits rose in every province but Quebec.

Permits for home construction rose 13.9 per cent in March from a year earlier. Permits for home construction rose 13.9 per cent in March from a year earlier. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

Permits for homes rose 13.9 per cent from February, to $4.2 billion, due to a substantial gain in multi-family dwellings, particularly in Ontario and British Columbia.

Outside the residential sector, municipalities issued $2.1 billion worth of permits in March. That was up 9.1 per cent from February.

With files from The Canadian Press