Residential leads August building construction gains

Investment in building construction increased 1.1 percent to $17.9 billion in August. The residential sector was up 1.6 percent to $11.9 billion, while the non-residential sector remained relatively stable, up 0.1 percent to $5.9 billion, says Statistics Canada. On a constant dollar basis, investment in building construction increased by one percent to $10.2 billion. 

Following five months of consecutive declines, investment in residential building construction rose 1.6 percent to $11.9 billion in August. Quebec (+7.6 percent; +$2.1 billion) led the growth in both single-family and multi-unit investment. 

Single-family home investment rose 2.4 percent to $5.9 billion. Overall, six provinces posted gains. Quebec (+10.6 percent; +$95.0 million) had its largest monthly increase in this component since March 2022. Multi-unit construction investment was up 0.9 percent to $6 billion in August 2023. Notably, after peaking in September 2022, British Columbia (-3.2 percent to $1.3 billion) posted its 11th consecutive decline in this component in August 2023. 

Investment in non-residential construction ticked up 0.1 percent to $5.9 billion in August. Despite gains in industrial (+1.1 percent; +$13.4 billion) and institutional (+0.7 percent; +$10.1 million) investment, the decline in the commercial component (-0.5 percent; -$15.8 million) left the non-residential sector largely unchanged for the month.