Construction investment reaches record $20B in February
Construction investment reached an all-time high in February.
Statistics Canada reports that investment rose by 4 percent for the month, reaching $20 billion for the first time ever.
The residential sector continued to drive increases. Sectoral investment rose 5 percent to $14.9 billion for the month.
Investment in single-family homes rose 4.9 percent to $8.0 billion in February. Increases were posted in seven provinces, led by Ontario (+5.3 percent) and Quebec (+8.2 percent).
Meanwhile, multi-unit construction increased 5.1 percent to $6.9 billion, driven primarily by strong gains in Quebec (+16.8 percent).
Non-residential construction investment increased 1.1 percent to $5.1 billion in February. It was the eight straight month in which investment in that sector has risen.
Commercial investment was up 1.0 percent to $2.8 billion, with Alberta leading the way (+3.2 percent). The only two provinces that posted declines in this component were New Brunswick and Manitoba.
Investment in the institutional component was largely unchanged in February (+0.1 percent). Gains in Quebec (+1.9 percent) largely offset losses posted in seven other provinces.
Finally, industrial construction investment rose 2.8 percent to $893 million, with Ontario (+3.3 percent) and Quebec (+4.5 percent) accounting for over 90 percent of the national gain. This was largely due to several new manufacturing and maintenance building projects in both provinces.