OTTAWA — Total investment in building construction increased 0.5% in July to $15.2 billion, with slight gains in both the residential and non-residential sectors, reports Statcan. On a constant dollar basis, investment in building construction increased 0.8% to $12.8 billion.
The multi-unit residential component was the only investment component to post a decline, down 1.6% to $5.2 billion. This was due mainly to decreases in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Investment in single-unit construction was up 2.9% to $5.2 billion, driven by Ontario (+$139.3 million) and Nova Scotia (+$32.6 million). This increase more than offset the decline in investment in multi-unit construction.
Non-residential investment remained largely unchanged. On an unadjusted basis, investment in new non-residential building construction grew 3.3% to $2.3 billion, led by Quebec, which was up 9.4%.
