Total Investment in Building Construction Continues to Increase
May 12, 2021 | By Logan Caswell
The total value of investment in building construction rose 9.3% to $53.1 billion in the first quarter, thanks to continued strength in the residential sector.
Statistics Canada has announced total investment in building construction increased in March for a third consecutive month, reaching a new high and beating out February’s record output of $16.8 billion.
Helping lead the charge was the residential sector, assisting in the overall 5.9% uptick in March to $18.6 billion.
Residential Growth
Residential construction investment increased for the eleventh consecutive month, rocketing up 7.6% to $14.0 billion in March.
Investment in single units jumped 10.7% to $7.8 billion. The province of Quebec led the way with an increase of 30.4%, bringing investment in single homes to $1.9 billion for the province. Investment in Ontario was up 9.8% to $3.3 billion, driven by renovations to single family homes in the census metropolitan area of Toronto.
Gains in Quebec and Ontario led the overall increase in residential, with six provinces reporting declines.
Non-residential Improvement
Non-residential construction investment also rose slightly 1.1% to $4.6 billion in March over the previous month. The commercial and industrial investment components were below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
Institutional construction investment was up 2.2% to $1.2 billion. Multiple high-value projects in Montréal contributed to a 2.6% increase in Quebec, where investment totalled $315 million in March. British Columbia recorded another strong month in March, with the continued construction of new schools in Burnaby, North Vancouver and Vancouver.
Commercial building construction rose 0.8% to $2.6 billion. Six provinces recorded slight gains, led by Ontario and Alberta.
Investment in industrial construction edged up 0.4% to $823 million in March. Increases in Ontario, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec offset six provincial declines.
First Quarter Says Thanks to Residential Investment
The total value of investment in building construction rose 9.3% to $53.1 billion in the first quarter, thanks to continued strength in the residential sector (+12.4%). Investment for residential buildings reached $39.5 billion, largely because of increased spending on single units in Ontario (+21.8%) and Quebec (+24.9%).
