The residential segment was a major driver of gains
Investment in Canadian building construction reached $20 billion for the first time in February, representing a 4% annual upswing that was bolstered by gains in most provinces, with Quebec accounting for more than 50% of the increase.
On a constant dollar basis (with 2012 set at “100”), investment in building construction increased by 3.9% to $12.7 billion, according to Statistics Canada.
A major driver of this strength was the residential segment, which saw its investment volume grow by 5% to $14.9 billion in February.
“Investment in single family homes rose 4.9% to $8 billion in February. Increases were posted in seven provinces, led by Ontario (+5.3%) and Quebec (+8.2%),” StatCan reported. “Multi-unit construction increased 5.1% to $6.9 billion, driven primarily by strong gains in Quebec (+16.8%).”
However, Saskatchewan saw a decline for the third consecutive month.
Read more: Slowdown in annual pace of housing starts revealed
Meanwhile, investment in the non-residential sector increased for the eighth straight month, with a 1.1% gain to $5.1 billion in February.
Commercial investment ticked up by 1% to $2.8 billion, while institutional investment remained nearly unchanged in February (up by 0.1%).
Industrial construction investment grew by 2.8% to $893 million, spurred by strength in Ontario (up by 3.3%) and Quebec (up by 4.5%). These two markets accounted for over 90% of the national gain in industrial investment in February, mainly due to multiple manufacturing and maintenance building projects, StatCan said.
