Investment in residential building construction took a step back in March as growth in the non-residential sector was not enough to offset a contraction in residential investment.

For the month, investment in residential construction dropped by 1.8%, or -$278 million, to reach $15.3 billion.

Investment in multi-unit construction declined by $313.9 million to $8.0 billion. The decline was largely attributed to Ontario (-$130.8 million) and Quebec (-$111.6 million). In contrast, single-family home investment edged up by $36.2 million to $7.3 billion.

Investment in non-residential construction, meanwhile, rose by $85.5 million to $6.8 billion, marking the eighth consecutive monthly increase. The growth was spread across the three non-residential subsectors.

Investment in the institutional component grew by $47.4 million to $2.0 billion. Gains were recorded in seven provinces and two territories, led by Saskatchewan (+$18.5 million) and British Columbia (+$11.5 million).

Commercial construction investment rose by $32.9 million to $3.3 billion. Gains were led by British Columbia (+$26.2 million) and Ontario (+$11.6 million). Quebec (-$11.1 million) tempered the growth in the commercial component.

Finally, the industrial component edged up by $5.2 million to $1.5 billion. Declines were recorded in eight provinces and two territories, while growth was observed in Alberta (+$9.5 million) and Quebec (+$5.3 million) and in Yukon (+$0.2 million).

Non-residential growth leads Q1 gains

Overall investment in building construction grew 3.3% to $66.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 6.5% in the first quarter.

Investment in the non-residential sector was up 2.8% to $20.3 billion in the first quarter. The quarterly growth was largely due to gains in Ontario (+$401.4 million), along with seven other provinces and two territories. The overall institutional component recorded the largest increase (+5.6%), followed by the industrial component (+3.7%) and the commercial component (+0.8%).

Investment in the residential sector increased 3.5% to $46.3 billion in the first quarter, led by the multi-unit component (+6.5%), while single family home investment edged up 0.2%.