According to Statistics Canada, investment in building construction decreased 4.5 percent to $18.4 billion in June. Both residential and non-residential construction investment were down following a period of sustained growth from November 2020 to April 2021.
Following a 3.0 percent decrease in May, residential construction investment fell 5.8 percent in June to $13.8 billion. Investment in single-family homes remained well above pre-COVID-19 levels, despite falling 7.3 percent in June to $7.5 billion. Ontario and Quebec pulled single-unit investment down in June, after Ontario led national growth since May 2020.
Multi-unit construction investment was down 3.8 percent to $6.2 billion in June, with more than half of the provinces posting declines. Quebec reported the largest decrease mainly in the city of Montréal, followed by Ontario and British Columbia.
After posting slight increases for the last six months, non-residential construction investment edged down 0.4 percent to $4.6 billion in June, reflecting declines in commercial and industrial investment.
Commercial construction investment declined 1.0 percent to $2.5 billion. The largest drop stemmed from Ontario, down 2.2 percent as projects such as storage facilities in the cities of Ajax and Brampton began to slow down after peaking earlier this year.
Industrial construction investment was down 1.2 percent to $825 million in June. Minimal growth in four provinces was not enough to counter the decline.
Institutional investment increased for the eighth consecutive month, up 1.3 percent to $1.2 billion. Ontario led the way, advancing 2.8 percent to $430 million, aided by projects such as a long-term care home in Mississauga. Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick also reported gains.