Investment in non-residential building construction, first quarter 2017
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2017-04-18
$12.3 billion
First quarter 2017
-0.5% 
(quarterly change)
$59.2 million
First quarter 2017
-3.8%
(quarterly change)
$34.0 million
First quarter 2017
-0.7%
(quarterly change)
$136.2 million
First quarter 2017
-1.6%
(quarterly change)
$199.1 million
First quarter 2017
1.8% 
(quarterly change)
$2,175.8 million
First quarter 2017
0.3%
(quarterly change)
$4,741.7 million
First quarter 2017
-2.2%
(quarterly change)
$471.4 million
First quarter 2017
7.0%
(quarterly change)
$428.8 million
First quarter 2017
-6.0%
(quarterly change)
$2,532.6 million
First quarter 2017
1.1%
(quarterly change)
$1,408.7 million
First quarter 2017
0.1%
(quarterly change)
$49.5 million
First quarter 2017
7.6%
(quarterly change)
$66.0 million
First quarter 2017
7.3%
(quarterly change)
$9.1 million
First quarter 2017
4.1%
(quarterly change)
Investment in non-residential building construction totalled $12.3 billion in the first quarter of 2017, down 0.5% from the previous quarter. This marked the sixth decrease in seven quarters. Nationally, the decline largely reflected lower spending on the construction of institutional buildings and, to a lesser extent, on the construction of industrial buildings.
Overall, total investment fell in five provinces in the first quarter, with Ontario posting the largest decline and Saskatchewan a distant second.
Chart 1
Investment in non-residential building construction
Following a string of four consecutive quarterly advances, Ontario posted declines in all three components (institutional, industrial, commercial), with the decrease mostly attributable to lower spending on institutional buildings. Saskatchewan registered a fourth straight quarterly decline, with investment down in all three components.
The largest increases were recorded in Manitoba and Alberta. In Manitoba, investment rose for the fourth consecutive quarter, mainly the result of higher spending on commercial buildings. Following seven consecutive declines in total investment, spending was up in Alberta for all three components, mostly attributable to increased investment in commercial and institutional buildings.
Census metropolitan areas
Among the 36 census metropolitan areas, 19 posted decreased investment in non-residential building construction in the first quarter. Ottawa and Toronto recorded the sharpest declines.
In Ottawa, the decrease was largely attributable to a reduction in commercial and institutional spending, while in Toronto, lower spending on industrial and institutional buildings contributed heavily to the decline.
The largest gains were reported in Winnipeg and Edmonton for the second straight quarter. Growth in Winnipeg resulted from higher investment in the construction of commercial buildings, while in Edmonton the increase was primarily the result of higher spending on industrial projects.
Institutional component
In the institutional component, investment fell 1.7% to $3.4 billion. The national decrease was due to the decline in investment in educational buildings and health care facilities, which more than offset increased spending on nursing homes.
Declines in investment in institutional projects were recorded in seven provinces, with Ontario posting the largest drop, followed distantly by Saskatchewan.
In Ontario, investment fell 4.7% to $1.2 billion in the first quarter. Lower investment in educational buildings and health care facilities were primarily responsible for the decline.
In Saskatchewan, lower spending on the construction of health care facilities was most responsible for the decrease.
Conversely, Alberta and Quebec reported the largest increases in institutional building construction. The advance in both provinces was the result of greater spending on nursing homes, along with higher investment in health facilities in Alberta and educational buildings in Quebec.
Chart 2
Commercial, institutional and industrial components
Industrial component
Investment in industrial projects decreased 0.4% to $1.7 billion in the first quarter. At the national level, the decline was attributable to lower investment in the construction of farm and maintenance buildings, which offset growth in investment in manufacturing plant construction.
Declines were reported in four provinces, with Ontario contributing the most to the overall decrease.
In Ontario, investment fell 3.0% to $731 million, marking a fourth straight quarterly decline. Reduced spending on farm and maintenance buildings were the leading contributors to the decrease in that province.
In contrast, Quebec and Nova Scotia posted the largest advances. Investment rose in Quebec for the sixth consecutive quarter, with increased spending on manufacturing plants driving the growth. Higher investment in all types of industrial buildings was responsible for the increase in Nova Scotia.
Commercial component
Spending on commercial buildings remained stable at $7.2 billion in the first quarter. While spending on the construction of recreation centres, office buildings and warehouses increased, it was offset by a decline in investment in shopping centres and restaurants.
Investment in commercial projects rose in four provinces, with Manitoba posting the largest gain. The advance in Manitoba was mainly the result of increased investment in office buildings.
Conversely, Ontario and Quebec recorded the largest declines. In Ontario, lower investment in shopping centres, passenger terminals and restaurants more than offset gains in recreation centres and warehouses. In Quebec, decreased spending in recreation centres more than offset advances in spending on shopping centres.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data expressed in current dollars, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Investments in non-residential building construction exclude engineering construction (such as for highways, sewers, bridges, and oil and gas pipelines). These data are from the Building Permits Survey of municipalities, which collects information on construction intentions.
Work put-in-place patterns are assigned to each type of structure (industrial, commercial and institutional). These work patterns are used to distribute the value of building permits according to project length. Work put-in-place patterns differ according to the value of the construction project; a project worth several million dollars will usually take longer to complete than will a project worth a few hundred thousand dollars.
Additional data from the Capital and Repair Expenditures Survey are used to create this investment series. Investments in non-residential building data are also benchmarked to Statistics Canada's System of National Accounts' non-residential building investment series.
For the purpose of this release, the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: the Ottawa part and the Gatineau part.
Two new CMAs have been added: Belleville, Ontario and Lethbridge, Alberta. They have been excluded from the CMA analysis since there was no data available at this level prior to this release. They will be included in future releases.
Unless otherwise specified, the highlights refer to current dollars and are ranked in terms of dollar change rather than percentage change.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or daily 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).
- Date modified: