Statistics Canada: Investment in Building Construction, June 2024

Investment in building construction grew 2.8% to $21.4 billion in June, after a slight increase of 0.8% in May. These increases partly reflect April’s record high of $13.4 billion in total building permits value, since investment levels for a given period are driven by permits issued in prior months.

The June increase in investment in building construction was primarily driven by the residential sector (+3.8% to $15.0 billion), while the gains in the non-residential sector (+0.4% to $6.4 billion) were modest.

Year over year, investment in building construction rose 10.0% in June, following a 7.0% increase in May.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction was up 2.6% to $13.0 billion in June, compared with the previous month, and 6.8% year over year.

Quebec drives the growth in residential construction in June

Investment in residential building construction rose by 3.8% (+$546.7 million) to $15.0 billion in June. Monthly increases were recorded in nine provinces and two territories, with Quebec (+$265.0 million to $3.3 billion) leading the national gains for the second month in a row. Ontario (+$73.2 million to $5.6 billion), British Columbia (+$58.9 million to $2.5 billion) and Manitoba (+$47.8 million to $0.5 billion) also recorded an increase in residential construction, while Nova Scotia was the only province to post a decrease (-$1.2 million to $468.0 million).

Overall, investment in multi-unit construction grew 6.0% (+$454.7 million) to $8.1 billion in June, driven by Quebec (+$247.6 million to $1.8 billion) and Ontario (+$134.7 million to $2.9 billion).

Single-family home investment was up 1.4% to $6.9 billion in June, following two consecutive monthly declines.

Non-residential construction edges up in June

Investment in non-residential construction edged up 0.4% (+$26.3 million) to $6.4 billion in June, led by growth in the commercial component (+$27.2 million to $3.2 billion). Meanwhile, investment in both the industrial and institutional components was virtually unchanged.

Second quarter of 2024 marks fourth quarterly increase

Investment in building construction was $62.8 billion in the second quarter, up 0.4% from the previous quarter, and marking the fourth quarterly increase in a row. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 7.2% in the second quarter.

Investment in residential building construction increased slightly by 0.4% to $43.7 billion in the second quarter. Gains in the multi-unit component (+5.1%; +$1.1 billion) were tempered by declines in the single-family home component (-4.3%; -$923.1 million).

Investment in the non-residential sector edged up 0.3% to $19.1 billion in the second quarter, the 14th consecutive quarterly gain for the sector in Canada. An increase in the institutional component (+1.9% to $5.4 billion) was moderated by declines in both the industrial (-0.6% to $4.1 billion) and commercial (-0.2% to $9.6 billion) components.

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 July will be released on September 18.

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