Canada’s pool industry grows for third straight year

Prairies

In 2018, the weather in the Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) varied from province to province; however, this was not the case in 2019. For instance, this region experienced one of the driest winter-spring in the last 133 years, which was compounded by the fact the record cold continued into March and April and followed by the second wettest August/September in 136 years. According to Environment and Natural Resources Canada, Edmonton experienced its driest spring on record; Regina had its driest March (0.8 mm of precipitation); Saskatoon was even drier in April (0.4 mm of precipitation), while Winnipeg recorded its driest first half year (with only 91 mm of precipitation). The typical January-to-June total is 235 mm. In these cities, homeowners saw their foundations cracking, shifting, and sinking in the abnormally dry ground.

Taking the above into consideration, which affected this region’s economic structure that is dependent on agriculture, mining, and gas and oil, it was no wonder this region had a tough year with respect to pool permit registrations.

As a result, all three provinces and five of six CMAs reported decreases in pool installations last year as opposed to only three CMAs and one province in 2018. When taking a more granular look, Saskatchewan had the greatest decline with 12 less permits registered (down 52.2 per cent). One of the biggest reasons for this was both Regina and Saskatoon were down in 2019. Seven fewer permits were reported in these CMAs, representing a 46.7 per cent year-over-year decrease. The last time both of these CMAs reported decreased permits was the 2016 season.

Alberta also saw a 22 per cent decrease in permits (down 22 per cent year-over-year). Similar to the CMAs in Saskatchewan, Calgary, which had reported increases in 2017 and 2018, had a decline of 26 permits last year, representing a 71.7 per cent decrease.

It was not all doom and gloom for this province, however, as permits in Lethbridge increased by three (+9.1 per cent) over 2018. Although this represents a small year-over-year gain, at least one permit was registered in every month of the year except for February.

In 2019, each province in the Prairies region mirrored the 2016 season with no pool permit increases. This ended a two-year streak of growth in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Overall, the Prairies represent 2.9 per cent of the total number of building permits issued in Canadian CMAs, which is down by 0.1 per cent year-over-year.

British Columbia

This province has seen permits increase in six of the last eight years. That said, permits decreased in 2019 and, similar to the Prairies, the last time this occurred was in 2016. Some of the reasons for the decline that season were a result of extremely active wildfires and dry spells between spring and summer. This was not the case last year. In fact, wildfires were not as rampant as in the previous two years. Instead, the province faced wet weather, less extreme temperatures, and frequent cool, damp, and cloudy periods. While this worked in favour of less wildfires, it certainly did not help the pool industry.

Last year, one of four CMAs in the province reported growth, while three of four had permit increases in 2018. That said, 2019 pool permits were down in the province by 8.5 per cent, representing a year-over-year decline of 47 permits. Kelowna was down by 41 permits over the 2018 season, representing a 17.6 per cent decrease. As a result, this CMA made it onto the list of the top five urban centres with decreased pool permits in 2019. For the third consecutive year, Vancouver had a decrease in permits (-5.9 per cent), while Victoria, the province’s capital, had a 37.5 per cent year-over-year decline.