Investment in building construction dropped by 1.2% in May, falling to below $20 billion for the month.

Investment in residential building construction contracted by 1.7% to $14 billion. Alberta was among seven provinces reporting declines, reaching its lowest level of residential investment in nearly three years. May marked the province's ninth consecutive monthly decrease.

At a national level, single family home investment fell 2.9% to $7.4 billion. Multi-unit construction, meanwhile, was down 0.3% to $6.7 billion, with Quebec (-5.0%; -$60.1 million) behind much of the fall as it continued to decline since its peak in May 2022.

Investment in non-residential construction was largely unchanged at $5.9 billion in May, following consistent growth since June 2022.

Investment in industrial construction was down 0.4% to $1.2 billion, mostly due to Quebec (-3.2%; -$11.9 million), which saw an interruption to 20 consecutive months of growth in that province.

Commercial construction investment edged down 0.2% to $3.2 billion, while the institutional component was up 0.6% to $1.4 billion, with Ontario (+2.9%; +$15.4 million) leading the gains.