TOP STORY
Factory-Gate Prices Jump 13.5% as Diesel Soars 75% — Contractors Pay the Bill
Statistics Canada’s Industrial Product Price Index rose 1.3% in August and is up 13.5% from a year ago, the 23rd straight month of year-over-year gains. Look at the inputs that matter on a job site: diesel up 75.0% year over year, light fuel oils up 74.5%, copper up 49.3%, aluminum up 27.6%, and plastic resins up 10.7% in a single month. Raw materials paid by manufacturers climbed 22.8% year over year as the Iran ceasefire fell apart and crude jumped 7.1% in August alone. Alberta producers will take the higher crude price; BC and Alberta contractors get the other side of the ledger in fuel surcharges, asphalt, pipe and wire. The Bank of Canada’s deliberations released Wednesday show a Governing Council split on whether a tariff-weakened economy can contain that pass-through, and agreed that if energy costs spread into other prices, “it could require a monetary policy response.” Rate cuts are gone; the next move is more likely up than down. Builders pricing 2027 work should assume higher costs and no relief from Ottawa’s 50% counter-tariffs on steel.
THE NUMBERS — STATISTICS CANADA
Building Permits, July 2026 — Released Wednesday. Permit values fell 17.3% to $12.2 billion, wiping out June’s gain and missing forecasts of a 6% dip. BC led the multi-unit decline (-$198.0M) with Alberta next (-$115.8M); BC institutional fell $169.0M and Alberta industrial $93.1M. One bright spot: BC commercial permits rose $116.3M. Statistics Canada
Industrial Product and Raw Materials Price Indexes, August 2026 — Released today. IPPI +1.3% m/m, +13.5% y/y; RMPI +3.1% m/m, +22.8% y/y. Excluding energy, industrial prices still rose 0.8% on metals and chemicals. Statistics Canada
New Housing Price Index, August 2026 — Released today. Builders’ selling prices slipped 0.1% nationally. Input costs up double digits, sale prices flat to down: that is the margin squeeze in one line. Statistics Canada
FROM THE ECONOMISTS
RBC Economics — Road to recovery for Canada’s housing market hits a bump in August — Resales fell 0.7% as the trade fight rattled buyers. Vancouver resales crossed 2,000 for the first time in nine months while prices kept easing; RBC calls it “a pause, not an inflection point,” with stabilization expected late 2026 into 2027.
WORTH WATCHING
The Mega Deduction Fine Print — Carney’s Productivity Mega Deduction lets firms write off most new capital in year one, cutting the marginal effective tax rate on new investment from 13% to 6.4%. Pipelines, bridges, roads and vehicles are on the list. Good policy. The test is whether legislation lands before year-end and whether provinces match it.
Macklem in Halifax, September 21 — The Governor speaks on “economic developments” Monday, the first read on how hard the Bank leans toward a hike after Wednesday’s deliberations. Scotiabank and National Bank already call for 2.50% on October 28.
From Summit to Shovels — Ottawa’s 167-project prospectus includes the West Coast oil pipeline and Calgary–Edmonton rail. Experts told BNN Bloomberg the binding constraints are approvals, community buy-in and workers. Former StatCan chief analyst Philip Cross adds the right caution: governments picking which projects get fast-tracked is how Canada got here.
IN BRIEF
Statistics Canada — Precious metals lead producer prices Gold, silver and platinum products rose 46.3% year over year, a boost for BC and Yukon mine developers even as fuel costs eat into site budgets.
COFFEE & CONSTRUCTION
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman serves up a 10-minute rundown of the news facing BC and Alberta construction on the Coffee & Construction podcast. Catch the latest episode: C&C #32: The Mega Deduction Matters. Subscribe free on YouTube (@ICBATV), ICBA’s socials, or wherever you download podcasts.