Building Construction Investment Drops

Investment in building construction declined 1.4 per cent to $20.4 billion in November, with most of the drop coming from Alberta (-5.6 per cent), says Statistics Canada. The residential sector decreased two per cent to $14.9 billion – the largest drop since the COVID-19 downturn in April 2020 – while the non-residential sector edged up 0.2 per cent to $5.5 billion. On a constant dollar basis, investment in building construction decreased by two per cent to $12 billion. Investment in single-family homes continued to fall for the fourth consecutive month, down 3.9 per cent to $7.8 billion for the month, with all provinces reporting declines. This month's decline brought the single-family component back down to levels last seen in December 2021. Multi-unit family investment remained relatively unchanged, edging up 0.1 per cent to $7.1 billion, despite notable gains from Manitoba (+16.4 per cent) which helped offset declines in six provinces. Investment in non-residential construction was up 0.2 per cent to $5.5 billion. Ontario (+1.3 per cent) accounted for most of the growth as it led the gains in each component. Industrial construction investment increased 0.9 per cent to $1.1 billion and was up 25.5 per cent year over year; commercial construction investment edged up 0.1 per cent to $3.1 billion and was up 13.5 per cent year over year; and institutional construction investment remained flat at $1.4 billion and has stayed around this value after reaching its historic peak in April.