Building construction investment rises in November
Investment in building construction rose in November, with the increase driven by a solid performance in the residential sector.
Statistics Canada reports that the value of overall investment for the month was $19.8 billion – up 1.7% from the month previous.
Investment in residential building construction increased 2.2% to $13.7 billion. The increase was led by more activity in new construction in Nova Scotia (+10.4%), Alberta (+4.4%), Ontario (+4.1%), British Columbia (+2.3%) and Quebec (+1.0%).
In Alberta, the monthly growth brought total investment in the residential sector to $2.0 billion in November, a record high in the province since the beginning of this series in January 2010.
Investment in detached single-family homes increased 1.2% to $6.6 billion in November, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, investment in multi-unit buildings, which includes apartments, semi-detached and row homes, increased 3.1% to $7.2 billion.
Investment in the non-residential sector, meanwhile, edged up 0.4% to $6.0 billion in November. Gains in institutional (+3.1% to $1.6 billion) and industrial (+1.0% to $1.3 billion) investments were mostly offset by the decline in commercial investment (-1.2% to $3.2 billion) in the month.