The latest numbers on building permits issued for March by the Portage la Prairie Planning District show some significant numbers.

The data's put a smile on City Councillor Preston Meier's face. He's also the chair of City Planning and Economic Development.

"I really get excited every time I read the permits that have been issued," he says, "So, this month you're starting to see the larger permits coming through, and we had a bit of a record last year, with over a 100 million dollars in permits in the year 2018. This year already, we're way ahead of that. Just last month (March) alone, we had over 54 million dollars in permits that were issued."

Meier says this is confirmation of what's happening here, economically.

"You're starting to see companies and residences, and people start to put money back, not only into repairs and renovations, but new construction as well. So it's really nice to be able to see that, and see what's happening in Portage."

Here's the report.