Shipments of seed from the New Westminster 

 plant were also made to Australia, New Zealand, 

 Tasmania and other parts of the world, and some 

 to the different provinces of Canada as well as 

 to associations or individuals in the United 

 States, Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway, 

 Finland and Peru. The great increase in refor- 

 estation work throughout the Empire, of which 

 this seed collection is evidence, is due to the 

 lessons taught by the war. 



Canada has some of the finest timber in the 

 world, and this collection, extraction and distri- 

 bution of seed is a benefit both to the Empire 

 and to the Dominion. It opens a new line of 

 activity and enables governments and indivi- 

 duals to secure seed in sufficient quantities to 

 carry out worth-while plans of reforestation. 



1922 A Building Year 



Since the beginning of the year, Canada has 

 experienced a distinct revival in the building 

 industry after a virtual stagnation which existed 

 throughout the war years and into the post-war 

 era. Prices of building materials as well as the 

 high cost of labor seriously curtailed construc- 

 tion of all kinds, and confined it to such as was 

 absolutely necessary. With the establishment 

 of a new level in the price of material and the 

 readjustment of the cost of labor a decided 

 impetus was given to the building industry from 

 the opening of the building season. There has 

 been unsurpassed activity, and the figures for 

 the first six months indicate the accomplishment 

 of a volume of construction unequalled in any 

 year since 1914. 



For the first six months of the year 1922, 

 building permits in Canada had an aggregate 

 value of $132,452,000 as compared with $111,- 

 763,500 in the first half of 1921, $144,747,100 

 in 1920 and $78,118,300 in 1919. In 1922 the 

 Province of Ontario accounted for $74,586,900 

 of the total permit value; Quebec $31,294,200; 

 the Maritime provinces $5,521,700; and the 

 Western provinces $21,049,200. Of the total, 

 the sum of $53,435,300 is accounted for by 

 residential building; $39,660,900 by business 

 construction; $10,050,700 in industrial erec- 

 tions; and $29,305,100 in engineering construc- 

 tion. 



An Increase of Over Twenty Million. 



Compared with the year 1921, the total value 

 of permits throughout Canada shows an increase 

 of $20,688,500 over the value of the same 

 period. In Ontario the value of construction 

 undertaken has practically doubled, and Toronto 

 has led all Canadian cities in the building under- 

 taken so far this year. The even distribution 

 of the kinds of building undertaken is clearly 

 illustrated in the figures for June 1922, the value 

 of permits, $35,620,400, being the second 

 largest monthly figure since May, 1914. Of the 

 total, residential building accounted for 36.4 



per cent; business, 29.1 per cent; industrial, 

 13.8 per cent; and public works and utilities, 

 20.7 per cent. The amount of contemplated 

 new work throughout the Dominion at the end 

 of June was $26,117,400. 



The buildings undertaken during the first 

 six months, from coast to coast, are summarized 

 as follows: 69 apartments, 95 churches, 124 

 factories, 195 public garages, 23 hospitals, 54 

 hotels, 103 office buildings, 46 public buildings, 

 10,725 residences, 243 schools, 823 stores, 24 

 theatres, 88 warehouses, 79 bridges, 19 darns and 

 wharves, 103 sewers and water mains, 161 roads 

 and streets and 138 general engineering. 



Activity is General. 



The resumption of building in Canada is not 

 confined to certain sections but is general, and 

 exceptional construction activity is evidenced in 

 all cities from coast to coast. According to the 

 reports received from 56 Canadian cities there 

 is a building increase of over 30 per cent in 

 comparison with 1921. Quebec Province reports 

 an increase of more than fifty per cent; and 

 Saskatchewan shows an increase of more than 

 300 per cent. Montreal and Toronto, particu- 

 larly the latter, have exceeded by a wide margin 

 the value in permits for the same time last year. 

 In Winnipeg the permits for the first six months 

 of 1922 show an increase of practically $1,000,000 

 over the corresponding period in 1921. In Cal- 

 gary, for the same space of time, the million 

 dollar mark was passed. Improvements are 

 noted in Regina, Moose Jaw, Brandon, Leth- 

 bridge, Edmonton, and other western centres, 

 as well as Halifax, Moncton, Sherbrooke, 

 Westmount, Fort William, Kitchener, Oshawa, 

 Peterborough, and other cities of the East. In 

 construction already accomplished this year, the 

 leading cities in order are Toronto, Montreal, 

 Winnipeg, Hamilton, Windsor, Ottawa, Van- 

 couver, Quebec, London, Saskatoon, Port Arthur 

 and Calgary. 



The resumption of building in Canada on a 

 substantial scale, more so than perhaps any other 

 factor, may be taken as an indication of the 

 return of brighter and more settled times and a 

 further emerging from post-war depression, for 

 building in the Dominion is so indicative of 

 progress and expansion that it has come to be a 

 gauge which marks, in a fairly accurate manner, 

 the trend of economic affairs; it estimates the 

 status of business and reflects the prosperity of 

 other industries. In a resumption of building 

 is reflected the downward trend in the price of all 

 materials used in building, and a decline in the 

 cost of labor to a level closer approximating the 

 pre-war level. More building is indicative of 

 hope and of faith in the immediate future. No 

 other disturbance of the years following the war 

 caused such inconvenience and upheaval as the 

 cessation of building, and, in view of all it por- 

 tends, nothing is so gratifying as the return to a 

 normal amount of construction. 



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