Ottawa, ON — Total investment in building construction for April 2021 increased to $19.9 billion, with a strong residential sector and a non-residential sector that grew but still appears to be healing from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the 12th consecutive month, residential construction investment performed strongly with an 8.1 per cent gain, bringing the total investment to $15.3 billion, reports Statistics Canada. Non-residential construction investment has not yet returned to pre-COVID levels, however, it still increased 0.9 per cent in April.
Single-family home investment was up 8.9 per cent, as all provinces except Nova Scotia posted increases. Ontario led the charge in terms of growth with an increase of 12.8 per cent, largely due to renovation projects in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Toronto and new construction projects in the CMA of Hamilton.
Prince Edward Island reached a record high in single-family home investment, surging 84 per cent to $101 million. This was mainly due to renovation projects.
In the multi-unit market, investment rose 7.2 per cent to $6.7 billion. Quebec had the largest increase, with high-value projects in the city of Lévis. British Columbia also reported notable growth, up 8.2 per cent to $1.3 billion.
Overall, every province and territory in Canada, except the Yukon, saw an increase in investment in residential construction.
Non-residential construction investment continued to post small gains for the fifth consecutive month. Institutional investment was up 1.4 per cent to $1.2 billion, with the largest increase reported in Ontario. This increase was based on high-value construction projects such as the Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto.
Industrial construction investment was up 1.8 per cent to $847 million, largely due to ongoing projects in Toronto and Montréal.
Five provinces posted increases in commercial investment, edging up 0.3 per cent. Ontario and Prince Edward Island have now exceeded pre-pandemic levels in this is market, with Prince Edward Island reaching a record high.