Statistics Canada reports that total investment in building construction increased 1.4% in August to $15.5 billion, with gains in both the residential (+1.8% to $10.6 billion) and non-residential (+0.5% to $4.9 billion) sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased 1.2% to $13.0 billion.

For more information on housing, please visit the Housing Statistics Portal.

Residential building construction

Investment in residential building construction was up 1.8% in August to $10.6 billion. The multi-unit component edged up 0.4% to $5.3 billion, led by Ontario (+$129.2 million). Investment in single-unit construction increased 3.2% to $5.4 billion, slightly exceeding multi-unit residential investment. This was partly due to gains in Ontario (+$94.0 million) and Alberta (+$47.5 million).

Non-residential investment

Non-residential investment was up 0.5% to $4.9 billion. Both the commercial (+0.8% to $2.8 billion) and institutional (+0.2% to $1.1 billion) components edged up. The industrial component (-0.4% to $905.4 million) edged down in August.

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