Ottawa, ON — Temperatures across Canada have been slowly climbing, yet investment in building construction has slightly cooled for the month of May. For the first time in seven months, investment reported a drop—falling 1.9 per cent to $19.4 billion, to be exact.
Less investment within the residential construction was the driving force behind the decrease, while non-residential construction increased slightly, reports Statistics Canada.
Single-family home investments was down 2.7 per cent to $8.3 billion, with Quebec and Ontario posting the most significant declines. Multi-unit construction investment fell 2.6 per cent to $6.5 billion in May. Quebec reported the most significant decrease of 11 per cent, reversing a 13 per cent increase in April. Additionally, seven provinces had declines in industrial construction, decreasing slightly to $837 million nationally.
There were small gains in non-residential investment, up $4.7 billion in May. With multiple high-value construction projects in the works, Ontario lead an increase in commercial construction investment. These Ontario-based projects include an Amazon fulfillment centre in London, a Canadian Tire distribution centre in Brampton, and the Labourers Union office building in Vaughan.
For the seventh consecutive month, institutional investment grew 1.2 per cent to $1.2 billion. Amongst the provinces, Quebec led the way with an increase of 3.7 per cent to $341 million. Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Alberta also reported notable gains.