Investment in Canadian Building Construction Falls 1.7% in July

On Wednesday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that investment in Canadian building construction declined 1.7% to $20.9 billion (CAD) in July, following an increase of 2.7% in June. Year over year, investment rose 7.0%.

On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction decreased 1.9% to $12.7 billion in July but grew 3.9% year-over-year.

Residential

Investment in residential building construction was down 2.2%, or $330 million, to $14.6 billion in July.

Single-family home investment decreased 2.2%, or $148.9 million, to $6.7 billion, with 11 provinces and territories posting declines. Only Saskatchewan (up $6.4 million) and Nunavut (up $1.2 million) recorded increases.

Investment in multi-unit construction declined 2.2%, or $181.1 million, to $7.9 billion. The decline was largely driven by Quebec, down $184.3 million, following strong growth in May (up $206.6 million) and June (up $282.6 million). Ontario helped to offset some of Quebec’s decline, rising $105.6 million.

Nonresidential

Investment in nonresidential construction edged down 0.4% to $6.3 billion in July.

The industrial component decreased 2.1%, or $28.2 million, to $1.3 billion—its fourth consecutive monthly decline. Declines were reported in nine provinces and all three territories.

Investment in the commercial component edged down 0.4%, or $11.7 million, to $3.2 billion. Declines were posted in five provinces and two territories.

Only the institutional component posted an increase: 0.8% to $1.8 billion.