Investment in building construction declined slightly in September, dropping by 1.1% to $22.4 billion.

Statistics Canada reports that investment in the residential sector declined 1.7%, while activity in the non-residential sector was virtually unchanged. Year over year, investment in building construction is 6% ahead of the pace set last year.

The decline in residential building construction investment was primarily attributed to the multi-unit component, which contracted by 2.5%, or $218.5 million, to $8.4 billion. Contractions in Ontario (-$116.7 million) drove most of the decline, followed by Alberta (-$72.0 million) and British Columbia (-$32.7 million). In total, seven provinces and two territories contributed to this decrease.

Investment in single-family home construction edged down $44.6 million to $7.3 billion. The decrease was largely attributed to Alberta (-$46.2 million), followed by Ontario (-$42.0 million).

Meanwhile, the value of non-residential investment in building construction increased slightly – by $3.3 million – to reach $6.8 billion.

Investment in the institutional component rose $15.6 million to $2.1 billion, driven by Alberta (+$14.8 million) and British Columbia (+$5.9 million). Ontario (-$6.7 million) moderated the national growth.

Commercial construction investment increased $4.6 million to $3.3 billion, with gains reported in British Columbia (+$6.5 million), Manitoba (+$5.0 million) and Quebec (+$4.9 million).

Meanwhile, investment in the industrial component decreased $17.0 million to $1.3 billion in September, marking the eighth consecutive monthly decrease. Ontario (-$5.8 million), Alberta (-$5.4 million) and British Columbia (-$4.0 million) led the declines among those recorded in eight provinces and one territory.

Third quarter summary: Investment in building construction edges up

In the third quarter, investment in building construction increased 0.6% (+$392.2 million) to $67.7 billion from the previous quarter and grew 7.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Investment in the residential sector rose 0.9% to $47.5 billion in the third quarter. The single-family component (+5.0%) led this increase, while the multi-unit component (-2.3%) experienced a decline.

Meanwhile, investment in non-residential building construction edged down 0.1%. A decline in the industrial component (-4.9%) was partially offset by gains in the institutional (+2.3%) and the commercial (+0.4%) components.