According to Statistics Canada, contractors’ prices for new non-residential building construction rose 0.8 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter. This was the seventh consecutive quarterly increase.
Prices for new non-residential building construction were up in six of the seven surveyed census metropolitan areas (CMAs). Prices rose the most in Vancouver (+1.3 percent) and Montréal (+1.2 percent). Contractors in both CMAs reported higher costs to complete the structural components of new buildings due to the favorable local market conditions and a high demand for skilled labor.
Year over year, contractors’ prices for new non-residential building construction increased 2.7 percent, led by higher prices in Vancouver (+6.0 percent). Contractors working in Edmonton (+0.2 percent) and Calgary (+1.2 percent) reported the first year-over-year price increases for new non-residential building construction since the fourth quarter of 2014 and first quarter of 2015 respectively.