Municipalities across the country issued $7 billion worth of Canadian building permits in January 2014, up 8.5 per cent from December, according to Statistics Canada.

The agency says that the increase came from higher construction intentions in the residential sector, which more than offset a decline in the non-residential sector.

Overall gains were posted in every province, except for Quebec. Meanwhile, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario reported the largest increases.

After two consecutive monthly decreases, construction intentions for residential dwellings rose 26.3 per cent to $4.6 billion, with gains in all provinces.

In the non-residential sector, the value of permits fell 14.6 per cent to $2.4 billion, following a 5.4 per cent increase in December.