Contrasting fortunes in the residential and non-residential sectors conspired to bring down the total value of building construction investment in October.

Statistics Canada found that the total value of investment dropped 0.4 percent—to $15.2 billion—for the month. This, after the value of investments dropped by 1.5 percent in September.

Investment in the non-residential sector fell for the fourth consecutive month, and remains below pre-COVID-19 levels. Investment in the residential sector, meanwhile, increased for the sixth month in a row.

The value of non-residential investment dropped 3.2 percent to $4.4 billion in October. Investment in commercial building construction accounted for the largest decline of the three components for the month, down 4.7 percent to $2.5 billion. All provinces and territories were down, with the largest drop in Quebec (-13.4 percent to $443 million). Over the first 10 months of 2020, Quebec has yet to issue a permit over $100 million for a commercial project, compared with four commercial permits over $100 million for the same period of the previous year.

A decline of 1.7 percent was reported in industrial building construction investment in October. Small declines were reported in eight provinces.

Institutional building construction investment reported a slight decline of 0.8 percent, with the largest decreases seen in Quebec (-1.9 percent), followed by Ontario (-1.2 percent). Gains in British Columbia (+2.2 percent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+6.6 percent) helped to offset these declines.

On the other side of the ledger, investment in residential construction edged up 0.7 percent in October.

Single-unit construction investment led the growth, increasing 3.7 percent to $5.5 billion. Ontario (+3.3 percent) and Saskatchewan (+27.7 percent) accounted for the majority of the increase. Investment in the construction of single-family homes was 7.7 percent higher in October than in February 2020, before the start of the pandemic.

Multi-unit construction investment fell for the first time in five months in October (-2.1 percent) with declines in seven provinces. Manitoba (-24.6 percent) and Alberta (-9.2 percent) reported the largest drops, while Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island reported the only gains for the month in this component. New construction and renovations for apartments in the city of Charlottetown contributed to the growth in Prince Edward Island.