According to Statistics Canada, investment in residential construction in Canada increased 7.8 percent year over year to $36.0 billion in the second quarter.
Every component except single homes and mobile homes contributed to the year-over-year increase in spending on residential construction in the second quarter. The growth was led by spending on apartment buildings, up $1.2 billion or 26.7 percent, followed by investment in renovations, up $1.0 billion or 6.7 percent.
Apartment building construction investment was up year over year in seven provinces, led by Quebec (+$615.0 million) and followed by Ontario and British Columbia. Prince Edward Island reported a $9.5 million increase to $12.4 million, the highest level since the second quarter of 2013.
Spending on renovations increased in six provinces, led by Ontario (+$582.6 million) and Quebec (+$276.9 million). Among the Atlantic provinces, New Brunswick (+$24.8 million) and Nova Scotia (+$21.1 million) were the only provinces to post gains for this component. In Western Canada, investment on renovations was led by British Columbia (+$239.0 million) and, to a lesser extent, by Manitoba (+$32.4 million). The largest declines for this component were in Alberta (-$101.0 million) and Saskatchewan (-$26.6 million).
In the second quarter, investment in single homes declined by $327.6 million, the first year-over-year drop since the fourth quarter of 2015. Investment was down in four provinces, led by Ontario (-$296.3 million), Saskatchewan (-$72.7 million) and Manitoba (-$37.3 million).