The total value of investment in building construction dropped by $304.6 million (-1.3%) to $22.6 billion in March, as a decline in the residential sector of 2.2% more than offset a small gain (+0.6%) in non-residential activity.

Year over year, investment in building construction was down 2.9% in March.

For the month, investment in residential building construction decreased $345.4 million to $15.5 billion. Declines were recorded in both the multi-unit (-2.3%) and single-family (-2.1%) components.

Investment in multi-unit construction was down $195.5 million to $8.4 billion in March, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease. Ontario (-$152.2 million) drove the decline, supported by Alberta (-$59.0 million) and British Columbia (-$43.7 million).

Meanwhile, investment in single-family home construction was down $149.9 million to $7.2 billion in March. Ontario (-$119.5 million) led the decrease, supported by broad declines across seven other provinces and one territory.

The value of non-residential investment in building construction edged up $40.8 million to $7.0 billion for the month. Growth in the industrial (+3.3%) and commercial components (+0.1%) was moderated by a slight decline in the institutional component (-0.3%).

Industrial construction investment increased $42.5 million to $1.3 billion in March. The gain in British Columbia (+$52.2 million) was moderated by broad declines across seven provinces and one territory, led by Ontario (-$7.0 million).

Investment in the commercial component edged up $4.4 million to $3.6 billion in March. Alberta (+$9.7 million) and British Columbia (+$3.0 million) were the primary contributors to the increase, while Ontario (-$5.9 million) and Quebec (-$2.0 million) partially offset it.

Meanwhile, investment in the institutional component edged down $6.1 million to $2.1 billion in March. Declines in Quebec (-$9.3 million) and Ontario (-$2.0 million) were tempered by an increase in Alberta (+$4.4 million).

Residential construction sector weighs on investment in the first quarter

The value of investment in building construction edged down 0.7% (-$512.2 million) to $68.8 billion in the first quarter. On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction decreased 1.5% to $62.9 billion.

Investment in residential building construction declined $1.3 billion to $43.7 billion in the first quarter after two consecutive quarterly increases. The decrease was primarily attributed to the multi-unit component (-$947.9 million; -3.8%), followed by the single-family component (-$341.6 million; -1.7%).

Meanwhile, investment in non-residential building construction was up $327.1 million to $19.2 billion in the first quarter. Growth in the commercial (+$235.2 million; +2.5%) and institutional (+$113.3 million; +1.9%) components was moderated by a slight decline in the industrial component (-$21.5 million; -0.6%).

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