Investment in Canadian Building Construction Declines in April

On Monday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that investment in building construction decreased 2.0% month-over-month to $20.5 billion (CAD) in April. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction decreased 1.9% to $12.6 billion.

Residential Construction

Investment in residential building construction decreased 2.7%, or $386.7 million, to $14.2 billion in April. Monthly declines were recorded in nine of the 13 provinces and territories, led by Ontario, down $123.9 million to $5.5 billion, and Alberta, down $118.4 million to $1.7 billion. Those declines were tempered by increases in the remaining provinces and territories, led by Saskatchewan, up $33.7 million to $287.1 million.

Across Canada, single-family home investment declined 4.7% to $6.9 billion in April. Saskatchewan was the only province to report an increase—up 17.7%, or $29.8 million.

Multi-unit investment was down 0.6% to $7.3 billion in April. Decreases were observed in six provinces and one territory. Much of the decline was offset by gains in Nova Scotia (up 10.5%, or $17.6 million) and Quebec (up 1.1%, or $14.1 million).

Nonresidential Construction

In April, investment in nonresidential construction was down 0.5%, or $31.2 million, to $6.3 billion. Declines in the industrial sector, down 1.4%, and the commercial sector, down 0.7%, were partially offset by a slight increase in the institutional component, up 0.6%.

Seven of the 13 provinces and territories reported gains in institutional construction investment, with Manitoba leading the way—up 10.2%, or $7.4 million. Notably, this was the 15th consecutive monthly increase for Manitoba. Year-over-year, the value of institutional investment in Manitoba nearly doubled, from $40.0 million in April 2023 to $79.8 million in April 2024.