Canadian Investment in Building Construction Continued Its Upward Momentum in July

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported today (9-13-22) that investment in building construction continued its upward trend which commenced in October 2021, increasing 0.8% to $21.0 billion (CAD) in July. Both the residential sector and non-residential sector posted increases. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased 1.4% to $12.8 billion.

Investment in the residential building construction sector rose 1.0% to $15.7 billion in July. Single-family home investment inched 0.3% higher to $8.6 billion and has remained relatively stable over the past five months ending in July. Multi-unit construction investment increased 1.8% to $7.1 billion. On an unadjusted basis, new construction for both single-family homes and multi-unit construction have shown notable growth in the previous months and are up year-over-year 3.9% in July.

Investment in the non-residential building construction sector inched up 0.1% to $5.3 billion in July. Commercial investment posted a 0.6% increase to $3.0 billion for the month, after posting strong gains in June. Investment in the industrial component sector climbed 2.2% to $1.0 billion in July, with seven provinces posting gains. On the other hand, institutional construction fell 2.3% to $1.4 billion in July, marking the largest decline in the component since April 2020.