Building construction investment drops 1.3% in March
Total investment in building construction contracted by 1.3% to $20.3 billion in March, Statistics Canada reported on May 17.
Investment in residential building construction decreased 2.1% to $14.6 billion in March.
Investment in single-family homes was down 1.8% to $7.9 billion for March, with seven provinces posting declines. Multi-unit construction fell 2.4% to $6.7 billion in March. Ontario (-4.7%; -$135.6 million) played the largest role in the decline, more than offsetting notable gains in Quebec (+4.8%; +$58.9 million) and Saskatchewan (+28.6%; +$22.8 million).
Investment in non-residential construction, on the other hand, continued to climb. Spending rose 0.9% to $5.7 billion in March.
Industrial construction investment increased for the 16th consecutive month, up 3.4% to $1.2 billion in March. Overall, eight provinces posted gains, led by Ontario (+5.0%; +$27.4 million).
Institutional construction investment was up 0.7% to $1.4 billion in March. British Columbia continued to increase (+2.6%; +$5.4 million), with the construction of a new expansion at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake contributing to the growth.
Commercial construction investment was relatively stable for March, edging up 0.1% to $3.1 billion. The construction of a new recreational centre in Spruce Grove, Alberta contributed to the monthly growth that was recorded.
Q1 investment unchanged compared to Q4
The total value of investment in building construction was relatively unchanged at $61.1 billion in the first quarter of 2023. All of the declines in the first quarter were in the residential sector, which fell 0.9% to $44.2 billion due to multi-unit construction; the non-residential sector rose by 2.3% to $16.9 billion.
Investment in single-family home construction was up 0.4% to $23.9 billion in the first quarter, while the multi-unit component fell 2.3% to $20.3 billion, with most of the decline coming from Quebec (-10.6%; -$447.0 million).
Investment in non-residential construction went up by 2.3% in the first quarter. All of its subcomponents reported increases compared with the fourth quarter of 2022.
The industrial component, which contributed the most to the non-residential sector, was up 5.9% to $3.4 billion in the first quarter, its eighth consecutive quarterly growth. Investments in the commercial component increased 0.8% to $9.3 billion, while institutional construction investment rose 2.7% to $4.3 billion.