It wasn’t all sunshine and roses for the construction industry this summer. Statistics Canada reported an overall decline regarding investment in building construction for the month of June—down 4.5 per cent to $18.4 billion, to be exact.
Both residential and non-residential construction investments decreased following sustained growth from November 2020 to April 2021.
After falling three per cent in May, residential construction investment fell 5.8 per cent in June to $13.8 billion. Despite dropping 7.3 per cent in June, investment in single-family homes stayed well above the pre-COVID-19 levels at $7.5 billion. Ontario and Quebec both showed significant declines.
Multi-unit construction investment showed a decline, down 3.8 per cent to $6.2 billion in June. More than half the provinces recorded declines, with Quebec showcasing the most significant decrease.
While non-residential construction investment saw slight increases over the last six months, that number edged down 0.4 per cent to $4.6 billion in June. That figure is reportedly due to the decline in commercial and industrial investment.
Speaking of commercial construction investment, Ontario showcased the biggest decline, down 2.2 per cent. This brings the total down 1.0 per cent to $2.5 billion. Industrial construction investment was down 1.2 per cent to $825 million in June.
Increases
Total investment in building construction did increase 7.3 per cent to $57.2 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Residential construction surpassed $40 billion for the first time with a 9.3 per cent increase.
Non-residential investment also posted a slight increase in the second quarter, up 1.5 per cent to $13.8 billion. It should also be noted that this figure was slightly below the same quarter in 2020. With strong growths coming from Ontario and Quebec, institutional investment reported a 4.8 per cent increase.