Ottawa, ON — Investment in building construction continues its downward trend in September, down 0.7 per cent to $17.5 billion, reports Statistics Canada. Since May, there has not been an increase.
Residential construction
Overall, residential construction investment decreased 1.6 per cent in September, with Quebec reporting the majority of the decline.
Additionally, investment in single-family homes declined 0.6 per cent to $7.0 billion. While eight provinces reported declines, Nova Scotia recorded an increase of 13.3 per cent, its fourth increase in five months.
Multi-unit construction investment also decreased 2.9 per cent to $5.8 billion, with seven provinces showing declines.
Residential sector behind quarterly decrease
In the third quarter of 2021, total investment in building construction decreased 7.5 per cent to $53.0 billion. Residential construction decreased 10.5 per cent compared with the second quarter, with declines seen in both single and multi-unit investment. Ontario and Quebec recorded the largest declines, but overall, all provinces showed declines.
However, non-residential investment reported its third consecutive quarterly increase, up 1.8 per cent to $14.1 billion. Ontario and Quebec led the way in this sector.
Non-residential
Compared to residential, the non-residential construction investment sector rose 1.8 per cent to $4.8 billion. Commercial investment grew 1.8 per cent to $2.6 billion in September. Ontario and Quebec were major contributors to the increase.
Investment in the institutional component also rose 2.9 per cent to $1.3 billion. Again, Quebec reported an increase, up 7.9 per cent.
Industrial construction slightly increased by 0.1 per cent to $824 million and five provinces reported gains. With an increase of 11.5 percent, Saskatchewan recorded the largest monthly percentage increase.
Despite eight increases since the beginning of the year, non-residential investment was 6.3 per cent lower than pre-pandemic values.