April sees decline in Canadian building construction investment

Posted on June 21, 2024   |  

In April, investment in Canadian building construction dropped by 2.0% to CAD 20.5 billion, with a constant dollar basis decrease of 1.9% to $12.6 billion.

Residential construction investment fell by 2.7%, or $386.7 million, to $14.2 billion, with declines in nine out of 13 provinces and territories.

Ontario saw the largest drop in residential investment, down $123.9 million to $5.5 billion, followed by Alberta, down $118.4 million to $1.7 billion.

Saskatchewan's residential investment increased by $33.7 million to $287.1 million, offsetting some of the overall declines.

Investment in single-family homes across Canada decreased by 4.7% to $6.9 billion, with Saskatchewan as the only province reporting a 17.7% increase, or $29.8 million.

Multi-unit investment fell by 0.6% to $7.3 billion, with declines in six provinces and one territory, but was partially offset by gains in Nova Scotia (up 10.5%, or $17.6 million) and Quebec (up 1.1%, or $14.1 million).

Nonresidential construction investment decreased by 0.5%, or $31.2 million, to $6.3 billion, with industrial and commercial sectors down by 1.4% and 0.7% respectively, while institutional investment rose by 0.6%.

7 provinces and territories reported increases in institutional construction investment, led by Manitoba with a 10.2% increase, or $7.4 million. 

Manitoba saw its 15th consecutive monthly increase, nearly doubling its investment from $40.0 million in April 2023 to $79.8 million in April 2024.