According to Statistics Canada, total investment in Canadian building construction decreased 0.5 percent from September to $15.5 billion in October. Investment in the non-residential sector was up (+0.5 percent to $4.9 billion), while the residential sector decreased (-1.0 percent to $10.6 billion). On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction was down 0.4 percent to $12.8 billion.
Investment in the residential sector was down in six provinces in October. The largest decrease was in Ontario (-$129.6 million), which posted its first decline in four months. Investment in both single (-1.0 percent) and multi-unit (-0.9 percent) dwellings decreased to $5.3 billion nationally. Despite the national decline, residential investment in British Columbia rose (+5.3 percent to $1.9 billion) after reporting decreases in both single and multi-unit dwellings for the previous four months.
Investment in the non-residential sector edged up 0.5 percent to $4.9 billion in October. The commercial component increased 1.1percent to $2.9 billion, largely due to increases in Ontario (+2.0 percent to $1.0 billion) and British Columbia (+3.8 percent to $546.9 million). The industrial (-0.3 percent to $902.4 million) and institutional (-0.4 percent to $1.1 billion) components edged down in October.