Investment in building construction, February 2019
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Released: 2019-04-23
$15.3 billion
February 2019
3.8% 
(monthly change)
Total investment in building construction increased in February, up 3.8% from January to $15.3 billion. This increase was primarily due to investment growth in the residential sector (+5.4% to $11.0 billion), while the non-residential sector remained unchanged at $4.4 billion. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction rose 3.9% to $13.0 billion.
Chart 1
Investment in building construction
Investment in residential building construction
The increase in total residential investment for February was driven by strength in multi-unit dwellings (+8.4% to $5.5 billion), while investment in single family homes rose more modestly (+2.6% to $5.5 billion).
The gain in residential investment was primarily due to renovation work, up $1.1 billion from the previous year.
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction
Infographic 1
Investment in residential construction, February 2019
Investment in non-residential building construction
Within the non-residential sector, investment in commercial building construction exceeded $2.5 billion, a record level. This gain reflected a 2.2% increase in Quebec which was mainly driven by a multi-plex sports facility being built in the city of Gatineau.
The industrial component rose 0.7% to $839 million in February. A new marijuana production facility for Canopy Growth Corporation in the City of Fredericton stimulated investment in New Brunswick, up 6.4% for the month.
The national decline in institutional construction investment (-1.0% to $988 million) was due primarily to the continuing decline in investment for maturing hospital projects in Alberta and Ontario. This was partly offset by an increase of $2 million in Quebec, reflecting continued investment in the Montréal Heart Institute.
Chart 3
Investment in non-residential building construction
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential construction, February 2019
Note to readers
Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted and are expressed in current dollars unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data facilitates month-to-month comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Monthly estimates for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0135-01). Typically, the first two months of a quarter use the previous quarters' price level and are revised when the new quarterly price index becomes available.
Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.
As a result of data source constraints, the total value for "type of work – all" may not equal the sum of its parts (new construction, renovation, conversion, and other). The component required to complete the summation is "type of structure, minor."
In the type of work series "conversions total," one or more residential dwelling units are created from an existing structure. Deconversions, garages and carports, as well as in-ground swimming pools, are grouped together in the "other types of work" category.
Prior to January 2018, building permits for cottages with a value greater than $60,000 were automatically reclassified to structure type Single. Beginning with January 2018, regardless of value, building permits received from municipalities coded as cottages remain classified as a cottage.
Effective November 23, 2018, table 34-10-0175-01 contains data on both the residential and non-residential sector. It replaced tables 34-10-0010-01, 34-10-0011-01 and 34-10-0012-01.
Next release
Data on investment in building construction for March 2019 will be released on May 21, 2019. As per standard Statistics Canada practices, unadjusted and seasonally adjusted data for 2015 to 2018 will be revised at the same time. This release will also include additional historical data for January 2010 through December 2014.
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Contact information
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