Investment in building construction increased 1.3 per cent to $15.9 billion in February, the fourth consecutive month-over-month growth. Gains were reported in all components of residential and non-residential investment.
On a constant dollar basis, investment in building construction increased 1.1 per cent to $13 billion. Investment in residential construction rose 1.4 per cent to $10.7 billion in February. Single-unit construction increased 1.9 per cent to $5.2 billion. The rate of growth surpassed that observed in the multi-unit component due to major projects in the Vancouver area. Gains in British Columbia outweighed declines in seven other provinces.
Non-residential investment was up 1.2 per cent to $5.1 billion. Ontario and Quebec reported the largest gains, while Alberta continued to decline, down 0.7 per cent to $678.9 million.
The commercial component represented the majority of growth in the non-residential sector, up 1.5 per cent to $3 billion nationally. Ontario and Quebec, again, contributed the most to the gains, which more than offset the declines reported in six provinces. Meanwhile, investment tin construction for the industrial and institutional components also increased month over month.