Construction investment declines 0.6% in September, but rose 1% in Q3
Investment in building construction dropped by 0.6% in September, to $20.9 billion, Statistics Canada reports.
Investment in residential building construction decreased 1.3% to $15.4 billion for the month. Investment in the sector has seen little growth since February, with both single-family and multi-family construction remaining relatively stable since.
Single-family home investment declined 1.3% to $8.5 billion in September and has stayed around this value since May.
Investment in multi-unit construction was down 1.4% to $7.0 billion. Quebec (-5.6%) caused most of the fall, with its fourth consecutive decline in this component following the peak in May.
Investment in non-residential construction, meanwhile, increased 1.6% to $5.4 billion in September. Ontario led the way in each component.
Industrial construction investment advanced 2.9% for the month and is up 24.0% year over year. This was the 10th consecutive monthly increase in this component.
Commercial construction investment rose 1.1% to $3.0 billion in September. Overall, eight provinces posted gains, and two reported declines.
Institutional construction investment was up 1.6% to $1.4 billion. Ontario (+2.5%) led the way, with the construction of a new elementary school in Hamilton and a post-secondary school in Toronto contributing to the gains.
Third quarter in review
The total value of investment in building construction advanced 1.0% to $62.8 billion in the third quarter, the fourth consecutive quarterly increase. Investment in residential buildings increased 0.7% due to multi-unit construction. The non-residential sector increased 2.1% to $16.1 billion.
Single-family home investment edged down 0.2% to $25.5 billion in the third quarter. The multi-unit component increased for the fourth quarter in a row, rising 1.8%, with most of the growth coming from British Columbia (+21.9%).
Investment in non-residential construction was up 13.4% compared with the third quarter of 2021. Industrial construction investment had its largest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2017, up 6.8% to $3.0 billion. Commercial construction investment increased 2.6% to $9.0 billion, the sixth consecutive quarterly increase. Institutional construction investment declined 2.1% to $4.1 billion, with most of the decline coming from Quebec (-7.7%).