Statistics Canada reports that total investment in building construction decreased 0.5% from September to $15.5 billion in October. Investment in the non-residential sector was up (+0.5% to $4.9 billion), while the residential sector decreased (-1.0% to $10.6 billion). On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction was down 0.4% to $12.8 billion.

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

Residential investment

Investment in the residential sector was down in six provinces in October. The largest decrease was in Ontario (-$129.6 million), which posted its first decline in four months. Investment in both single (-1.0%) and multi-unit (-0.9%) dwellings decreased to $5.3 billion nationally. Despite the national decline, residential investment in British Columbia rose (+5.3% to $1.9 billion) after reporting decreases in both single and multi-unit dwellings for the previous four months.

Non-residential investment edges up

Investment in the non-residential sector edged up 0.5% to $4.9 billion in October. The commercial component increased 1.1% to $2.9 billion, largely due to increases in Ontario (+2.0% to $1.0 billion) and British Columbia (+3.8% to $546.9 million). The industrial (-0.3% to $902.4 million) and institutional (-0.4% to $1.1 billion) components edged down in October.