Capital expenditures on Canadian infrastructure, 2018
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Released: 2020-04-01
Today, Statistics Canada released 2018 data on capital expenditures on Canadian infrastructure, in collaboration with Infrastructure Canada. The new data tables provide information on capital expenditures by infrastructure function. This new annual series measures capital investment to support economic activity and improve quality of life, providing insight into the evolving state of infrastructure. New data on capital expenditure funding related to government grants and contributions by level of government are also available.
Capital investment in infrastructure totalled $93.3 billion in 2018. Over one-third of the total was attributable to transportation infrastructure ($33.1 billion), which led the way in all provinces and territories except Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Nunavut. Electric power infrastructure ($16.6 billion) and education facilities ($10.1 billion) followed. These three types of assets together accounted for 64.1% of total spending. Investment in electric power infrastructure was the largest contributor to infrastructure spending in Manitoba ($2.0 billion) and Newfoundland and Labrador ($1.4 billion).
Of total capital spending on infrastructure, 77.0% was reported by public sector organizations. Private sector organizations accounted for more than 45.0% of infrastructure capital expenditures in Saskatchewan and Alberta, compared with an average of 16.8% in the rest of Canada. This was attributable to higher spending in these two provinces to support other transportation infrastructure (air, rail, water, and pipeline transportation).
Note to readers
Infrastructure consists of the physical structures and systems that support the production of goods and services and their delivery to, and consumption by, governments, businesses and citizens.
Government grants are unconditional transfer payments that governments provide for activities that meet eligibility criteria set by a funding program.
Government contributions are conditional transfer payments that governments provide (recipients need to meet certain conditions and the government can audit the recipients' use of funding).
Products
More information on the concepts and comparability with other sources is available in "Sources and Methods: Capital Investment in Infrastructure" (34260002).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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