Investment in Building Construction Edged Up Slightly in November
January 13, 2022 | By HPAC Magazine
The strongest growth area was multi-unit residential construction investment, which rose 2.4% to $6 billion, up from $5.9 billion in October 2021.
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that investment in building construction advanced 1.2% to $18 billion across Canada in November when compared with the previous month. The country saw increases in every sector (single- and multi-family residential, commercial and institutional) except for industrial construction.
The strongest growth area was multi-unit residential construction investment, which rose 2.4% to $6 billion, led by activity in the provinces of Ontario (+2.5%) and Quebec (+3.3%). Alberta and Saskatchewan also showed strength in this area.
Investment in single-family homes edged up only slightly nationwide advancing 0.7% month-over-month to $7.1 billion, led by Ontario (+1.7%).
Overall, residential construction investment rose 1.5% to $13.1 billion in November.
Non-residential construction investment remained relatively flat increasing only 0.6% in November over the month prior to $4.9 billion.
Commercial investment accounted for the largest dollar value, posting its fifth consecutive monthly increase (+0.6% to $2.7 billion) driven by gains in Ontario (+1.1%).
Prince Edward Island and Alberta were the only provinces to report decreases.
Investment in the institutional sector was up 1.4% to $1.4 billion. Quebec (+4.9%) posted the largest gain, largely offsetting the declines reported in seven provinces.
And industrial construction investment declined 0.7% to $824 million, reflecting decreases in Ontario (-1.6%) and Manitoba (-6.8%). Conversely, Nova Scotia saw strong gains, up 14.8%.
