In May, total investment in Canadian building construction dropped by $491.4 million, bringing the monthly total to $21.8 billion, according to the latest data by Statistics Canada. This marks a 2.3% decline in constant dollar terms (2023=100) from the previous month, although year-over-year investment remains up by 3.1%.

The residential construction sector experienced the most significant downturn, falling 3.0% or $462.6 million to reach $15.0 billion in May. This decline impacted both multi-unit and single-family housing projects:

• Multi-unit dwellings saw a 3.4% drop, totaling $8.5 billion. Ontario and Quebec were the largest contributors to the decline, with decreases of $166.4 million and $159.0 million, respectively. Alberta and Saskatchewan bucked the trend, posting gains of $50.4 million and $20.2 million.
• Single-family home investment fell 2.5% or $167.4 million, settling at $6.6 billion. Ontario again led the downturn with a $80.4 million decline, contributing nearly half of the national drop, followed by six other provinces and three territories.

Investment in non-residential building construction edged down 0.4% to $6.8 billion, with mixed results across industrial, commercial, and institutional components:

• Industrial investment dropped 1.3% or $18.0 million to $1.4 billion, largely due to losses in Quebec (-$10.9 million) and Ontario (-$7.1 million). Nova Scotia saw a modest gain of $2.3 million, leading positive movement in five provinces and one territory.
• Commercial construction declined 0.5%, or $15.9 million, bringing the total to $3.3 billion. Eight provinces and two territories recorded decreases, with Ontario again seeing the largest drop (-$8.8 million).
• The institutional sector was the only non-residential category to grow in May, rising 0.2% or $5.1 million to reach $2.1 billion. Gains in Alberta (+$8.5 million) and six other provinces were offset somewhat by a $13.9 million decline in Quebec.

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