Construction spending continues to rise in June

OTTAWA — Total investment in building construction increased 12 percent to $14.9 billion in June, according to new StatCan data, following the 62.2 percent gain observed in May. Although COVID-19-related workplace guidelines remained in place for June, construction sites were largely back to normal activity, which contributed to gains in all components of residential and non-residential investment. Nevertheless, total investment remained 3.1 percent lower than February 2020. Residential construction spending rose 12.2 percent to $9.4 billion in June, with gains in both single-unit (up 13 percent to $4.7 billion) and multi-unit (up 11.4 percent to $4.7 billion) investment. Ontario and Quebec led all provinces in growth for the month, while Saskatchewan was the only one to report a decline.