Statistics Canada: Investment in Building Construction, July 2024

Investment in building construction decreased 1.7% to $20.9 billion in July, following increases in May (+0.7%) and June (+2.7%). Year over year, investment in building construction rose 7.0% in July.

Both the residential (-2.2% to $14.6 billion) and non-residential (-0.4% to $6.3 billion) sectors posted declines in July.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction fell 1.9% from June to $12.7 billion in July, but grew 3.9% year over year.

Investment in residential sector declines

Investment in residential building construction was down 2.2% (-$330 million) to $14.6 billion in July.

Overall, single-family home investment decreased 2.2% (-$148.9 million) to $6.7 billion in July with 11 provinces and territories posting declines. Saskatchewan (+$6.4 million) and Nunavut (+$1.2 million) recorded the only increases.

Investment in multi-unit construction decreased 2.2% (-$181.1 million) to $7.9 billion in July. The decline was largely driven by Quebec (-$184.3 million) after strong growth in May (+$206.6 million) and June (+$282.6 million). Gains in Ontario (+$105.6 million) offset some of the decrease in Quebec.

Non-residential construction investment edges down in July

Investment in non-residential construction edged down 0.4% to $6.3 billion in July.

The industrial component decreased 2.1% (-$28.2 million) to $1.3 billion in July, marking its fourth consecutive monthly decline. The decrease in July was driven by Quebec (-$13.1 million) and Ontario (-$12.0 million). Declines were also seen in seven other provinces and in all three territories. Alberta (+$2.0 million) was the only province to record an increase.

Investment in the commercial component edged down 0.4% (-$11.7 million) to $3.2 billion in July. Declines were posted in five provinces and two territories, led by Quebec (-$9.6 million) and Alberta (-$4.8 million). These declines were moderated by increases in six provinces and territories, driven by British Columbia (+$6.0 million).

Only the institutional component (+0.8% to $1.8 billion) recorded an increase in July.

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Table 34-10-0175 has been archived on the Statistics Canada website and will no longer be updated but may still be viewed.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 August will be released on October 17.

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