Investment in residential construction experienced a continued decline for the fourth consecutive month, dropping by 4.5% to $12.1 billion in June according to Statistics Canada. Meanwhile, investment in non-residential construction showed a marginal decrease of 0.2%, totaling $5.9 billion. Overall, the investment in building construction witnessed a 3.1% decline, reaching $18.0 billion in June.

When considering inflation adjustments (2012=100), the investment in building construction saw a steeper decline of 3.4%, amounting to $10.3 billion.

Specifically focusing on residential construction, it sustained a 4.5% drop in June, marking the fourth straight month of decline. Ontario bore the brunt of this decrease, with a notable decline of 5.8% to $5.1 billion.

Single-family home construction faced a significant decline, plummeting by 5.7% to $6.2 billion in June, with declines affecting eight provinces. On the other hand, multi-unit construction witnessed its eighth consecutive month of decline, dropping by 3.1% to $5.9 billion, hitting its lowest level since September 2021.

Non-residential construction also faced a slight setback in June, with a 0.2% decrease amounting to $5.9 billion, primarily due to widespread declines in Quebec, where it fell by 3.1% to $1.3 billion.

However, there were some positive aspects. Commercial construction experienced an uptick of 0.8%, reaching $3.3 billion in June, while industrial (-1.4% to $1.2 billion) and institutional (-1.4% to $1.4 billion) construction both declined.

Overall, building construction investment witnessed a 5.2% decline in the second quarter, primarily attributed to the drop in residential construction, which plummeted by 8.2% to $37.9 billion. In contrast, non-residential construction increased by 1.8% to $17.8 billion.

During the same period, investment in single-family homes fell significantly by 10.5% to $19.7 billion, the sharpest decline since the second quarter of 2020. Multi-unit construction continued its downward trend, declining by 5.7% to $18.2 billion in the second quarter of 2023.

Non-residential construction exhibited resilience, rising by 1.8% to $17.8 billion in the second quarter, marking the tenth consecutive quarterly increase. Notably, investment in industrial buildings surged by 5.6% to $3.7 billion, while commercial construction increased by 1.7% to $9.8 billion.

Institutional construction, however, faced a slight decline of 0.9% to $4.4 billion, with Quebec accounting for most of this decline, decreasing by 4.6% to $1.3 billion. These trends in construction investment provide valuable insights into the state of the Canadian construction industry.

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