The total value of investment in building construction decreased by $448.3 million, or 1.9%, to reach $23.4 billion in January.

Statistics Canada reports that a decline in the residential sector (-3.0%) was moderated by a slight increase in the non-residential sector (+0.8%).

Year over year, investment in building construction grew 7.8% in January.

Investment in residential building construction dropped by $504.3 million to reach $16.4 billion for the month. Both the single-family (-3.4%) and the multi-unit (-2.7%) components reported declines.

Investment in single-family home construction decreased $255.2 million to $7.3 billion in January. This decrease partly stems from the $119.7 million decline in the value of single-family building permits in December. The decline in January was largely attributable to Ontario (-$164.4 million) and British Columbia (-$91.0 million).

Meanwhile, investment in multi-unit construction was down $249.1 million to $9.1 billion in January. Quebec (-$220.6 million) led the decrease, supported by broad declines across seven other provinces and one territory.

In contrast, the value of non-residential investment in building construction edged up $56.0 million to $7.0 billion. Investments in the commercial and institutional components each increased by 1.1%, while the industrial component was down slightly (-0.4%).

Investment in the commercial component grew $38.2 million to $3.5 billion in January, marking the sixth consecutive monthly increase. Gains in Ontario (+$18.3 million), Alberta (+$16.7 million) and British Columbia (+$6.6 million) were mitigated by a decrease in Quebec (-$2.6 million).

Meanwhile, investment in institutional construction rose $23.5 million to $2.1 billion in January. Overall, six provinces and one territory contributed to the increase, led by British Columbia (+$17.6 million).

Investment in the industrial component edged down $5.7 million to $1.3 billion in January, mainly driven by Quebec (-$5.8 million). By contrast, Alberta (+$1.8 million) along with three other provinces and three territories recorded a growth.