Investment in Canadian Building Construction Up 4.5% in March

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that investment in building construction increased 4.5% month-over-month to $20.4 billion (CAD) in March. On a constant dollar basis (2017=100), investment in building construction increased 4.1% to $12.5 billion.

Residential

Investment in residential building construction rose 5.4% to $14.3 billion in March. Increases were recorded in seven provinces, with Ontario up 6.5%, or $344.2 million, and Quebec up 9.2%, or $232.1 million.

Nationally, investment in detached single-family homes grew 6.5% to $7.3 billion, up for the eighth consecutive month. Multi-unit investment was up 4.4% to $7.0 billion.

Nonresidential

Investment in the nonresidential sector increased 2.3% to $6.1 billion in March, with all three components posting gains.

Industrial investment rose 3.1% to $1.3 billion, and investment in the commercial component rebounded up 2.0% to $3.0 billion after eight consecutive months of declines. Notably, investment in the institutional component grew 2.1% to reach $1.8 billion, a record high. The monthly increase was the ninth monthly increase in a row.

Q1 Summary

Investment in building construction rose for the third straight quarter, increasing 1.0% to $59.7 billion. Investment in residential building construction permits increased 1.4% to $41.6 billion.

Gains in the single-family component were up 6.2%, or $1.2 billion, more than offsetting declines in the multi-unit component—down 3.0%, or $647.8 million.

Investment in the nonresidential sector edged up 0.2% to $18.1 billion. The institutional component increased 7.2%, or $350.8 million, and industrial component was up 2.0%, or $76.5 million. The commercial component was down 4.1%, or $389.9 million.