Canadian Investment in Building Construction Up in December and for the Year

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) reported on Thursday (2-10-22) that investment in building construction in December increased by 1.9% to 18.4 billion (CAD). Gains were recorded in both the residential and non-residential sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction grew 1.2% to $11.5 billion.

Residential construction investment increased 2.2% to $13.4 billion in December. Investment in single family homes was up 3.5% to $7.4 billion with increases posted in eight provinces. Multi-unit construction investment increased by 0.7% to $6.1 billion.

Non-residential construction posted its sixth consecutive month of gains in December. Overall, non-residential construction investment increased by 1.1% in December to $4.9 billion. Commercial investment advanced by 1.7% to $2.7 billion. Industrial construction investment increased by 1.6% to $842 million. On the other hand, investment in institutional construction posted its first decline since late 2020, with eight provinces reporting decreases.

It was a record year for investment in building construction, jumping 19.3% to $218.2 billion in 2021. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction advanced moderately by 3.0%, reflecting strong growth in construction costs in 2021.

Investment in residential construction was up 28.4% to $162.0 billion, with single-unit investment accounting for more than half of the gain. Similarly, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported a 20% jump in construction starts from 2020.

Despite a strong fourth quarter, investment in non-residential construction saw a slight decrease of 0.9% to $56.2 billion in 2021. The decrease reported by commercial (-5.4%) and industrial (-3.4%) construction was somewhat offset by growth in institutional investment (up 12.0% to $15.2 billion).