Statistics Canada: Investment in Building Construction, August 2023

Investment in building construction increased 1.1% to $17.9 billion in August. The residential sector was up 1.6% to $11.9 billion, while the non-residential sector remained relatively stable, up 0.1% to $5.9 billion.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased by 1.0% to $10.2 billion.

Residential sector rebounds in August

Following five months of consecutive declines, investment in residential building construction rose 1.6% to $11.9 billion in August. Quebec (+7.6%; +$2.1 billion) led the growth in both single-family and multi-unit investment.

Single-family home investment rose 2.4% to $5.9 billion. Overall, six provinces posted gains. Quebec (+10.6%; +$95.0 million) had its largest monthly increase in this component since March 2022.

Multi-unit construction investment was up 0.9% to $6.0 billion in August 2023. Notably, after peaking in September 2022, British Columbia (-3.2% to $1.3 billion) posted its 11th consecutive decline in this component in August 2023.

Non-residential sector remains largely unchanged

Investment in non-residential construction ticked up 0.1% to $5.9 billion in August.

Despite gains in industrial (+1.1%; +$13.4 billion) and institutional (+0.7%; +$10.1 million) investment, the decline in the commercial component (-0.5%; -$15.8 million) left the non-residential sector largely unchanged for the month.

For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.

For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.

Note to readers

Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, methodological changes and classification updates. Unadjusted data have been revised for the previous two months. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised for the previous three months.

Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted with current dollar values unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data allows month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Monthly estimates for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0276-01). The monthly indexes used for the deflation process were part of a methodology review to increase the quality of the constant dollar and seasonally adjusted series. The indexes previously displayed a step pattern due to lower frequency collection.

Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.

The trade and services subcomponent includes buildings such as retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and motor vehicle show rooms. More detailed information can be found on the Integrated Metadatabase at Types of Building Structure – 2.2.1 – Trade and services.

Next release

Data on investment in building construction for September will be released on November 20.

Products

Statistics Canada has a “Housing Market Indicators” dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and census metropolitan area. These indicators are automatically updated with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.

Source: Statistics Canada