Statistics Canada: Investment in Building Construction, August 2024

Investment in building construction edged up 0.2% to $21.0 billion in August, after a 1.6% decrease in July. The residential sector edged down (-0.1%) to $14.6 billion, while the non-residential sector was up 1.0% to $6.4 billion. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 7.2% in August.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction was virtually unchanged at $12.8 billion in August, compared with the previous month, but grew 4.2% year over year.

A slight decrease in residential building construction

Investment in residential building construction edged down 0.1% (-$14.1 million) to $14.6 billion in August. Monthly decreases were recorded in four provinces, led by Quebec (-$126.4 million). These declines were tempered by increases in six provinces and the three territories, with Ontario leading the gains.

Single family home investment edged up 0.1% (+$9.0 million) to $6.7 billion in August, following a decline of 2.2% in July. Monthly declines in five provinces, led by Ontario (-$29.9 million), were offset by gains observed in the remaining provinces and the three territories.

Investment in multi-unit construction fell 0.3% (-$23.1 million) to $7.9 billion in August, which offset the slight growth in the single-family component. Declines were recorded in five provinces, with Quebec (-$121.9 million) leading the way and marking its second consecutive monthly decrease. These declines were mitigated by growth in Ontario (+$125.5 million), which recorded its third monthly increase in a row.

Non-residential investment reaches record high

Investment in non-residential construction increased 1.0% (+$63.2 million) to $6.4 billion in August, setting a record high level for the sector.

Institutional construction investment rose 1.3% (+$24.2 million) to reach a record high of $1.8 billion in August, driven by Ontario (+$18.3 million) and with increases also recorded in six other provinces and territories. Ontario recorded its 14th straight monthly growth in this sector.

The industrial component grew 1.9% (+$25.3 million) to $1.4 billion in the month, led by British Columbia (+$14.5 million). Ontario (+$11.6 million) and Alberta (+$6.1 million) also contributed to a rise in the industrial component.

Commercial construction investment grew 0.4% (+$13.7 million) to $3.2 billion in August, driven by British Columbia (+$12.0 million) and Ontario (+$11.5 million).

For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.

For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.

Note to readers

Table 34-10-0175 has been archived on the Statistics Canada website and will no longer be updated but may still be viewed. The successor table is 34-10-0286, and the information from January 2017 onwards that was in table 34-10-0175 is still available in the new table, except for the constant dollar series, which have been rebased to 2017=100. Constant dollar data for January and February 2017 represent an average between the old base year (2012=100) and the new base year (2017=100) and should be used with caution. These 2017 data series will be backcasted and the figures will be revised with the release of our annual revision.

Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, delayed construction start dates for large projects, methodological changes, classification updates, price index updates for constant dollar series, benchmarking and adjustments to ad hoc macroeconomic events. Unadjusted data have been revised back to January 2023. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised back to January 2017.

Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted with current dollar values unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data allows month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Monthly estimates for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0276-01). The monthly indexes used for the deflation process were part of a methodology review to increase the quality of the constant dollar and seasonally adjusted series. The indexes previously displayed a step pattern because of less frequent collection.

Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.

The trade and services subcomponent includes buildings such as retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and motor vehicle show rooms. More detailed information can be found on the Integrated Metadatabase at Types of Building Structure – 2.2.1 – Trade and services.

Next release

Data on investment in building construction for September will be released on November 20.

Products

Statistics Canada has a “Housing Market Indicators” dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and census metropolitan area. These indicators are automatically updated with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.

Source: Statistics Canada