Home building investment surges in Q3

OTTAWA — Investment in residential construction totalled $35.8 billion in the third quarter, according to StatCan data, up 9.1% compared with the same period in 2016 and the largest increase since the fourth quarter of 2012. For the first time in five years, residential construction investment rose on a year-over-year basis in every province. Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta posted the highest increases in the third quarter. Renovation spending, which rose 8.1% to $15.5 billion, drove the increases in every province except Alberta and Prince Edward Island, where spending was led by investment in new single houses.