Statistics Canada: Investment in Building Construction, October 2024

Overall, investment in building construction decreased 1.1% (-$243.3 million) to $21.4 billion in October, after a 2.6% increase in September. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 3.4% in October.

In October, investment in the residential building construction sector decreased by $312.3 million to $14.9 billion, while investment in the non-residential sector rose by $69.0 million to $6.5 billion.

Investment in multi-unit construction was the only component to post a decrease (-5.1%; -$423.2 million) in October, dragging down gains posted in the other components.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction decreased 1.1% compared with the previous month to $12.9 billion in October, but was up 0.3% year over year.

Ontario’s multi-unit component drags down residential sector in October

Investment in residential building construction declined 2.1% to $14.9 billion in October. Monthly decreases were recorded in six provinces and two territories, led by Ontario (-$315.8 million), British Columbia (-$67.7 million) and Nova Scotia (-$42.6 million). These declines were moderated by upward movement in four provinces and one territory, with Quebec (+$76.5 million) leading the gains.

Investment in multi-unit construction was down 5.1% to $7.8 billion in October, following the record high of $8.2 billion reached in the previous month. The monthly decline in October was driven by Ontario (-$434.9 million), marking its first decrease after four consecutive monthly gains.

Single family home investment rose 1.6% to $7.1 billion in October.

Non-residential investment increases in October

Investment in non-residential construction increased 1.1% (+$69.0 million) to $6.5 billion in October.

The industrial component increased 1.9% (+$25.9 million) to $1.4 billion in October, with Ontario (+$15.0 million) and Manitoba (+$14.6 million) leading the way. These gains were moderated by declines in four provinces and one territory.

Commercial construction investment edged up 0.3% (+$11.1 million) to $3.2 billion in October. Gains in Ontario (+$26.2 million) were tempered by declines recorded in seven provinces and two territories.

In October, institutional construction investment rose 1.8% (+$32.0 million) to $1.9 billion, with eight provinces and three territories posting increases. Only Quebec (-$5.2 million) and New Brunswick (-$0.7 million) recorded decreases in institutional construction investment in the month.

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 November 2024 will be released on January 20, 2025.

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