Investment in building construction, July 2019
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Released: 2019-09-23
$15.2 billion
July 2019
0.5% 
(monthly change)
Total investment in building construction increased 0.5% in July to $15.2 billion, with gains in both the residential (+0.6% to $10.4 billion) and non-residential (+0.3% to $4.8 billion) sectors. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased 0.8% to $12.8 billion.
Chart 1
Investment in building construction
Single-unit and multi-unit investments
The multi-unit residential component was the only investment component to post a decline for the month of July, down 1.6% to $5.2 billion, mainly as a result of decreases in British Columbia (-$149.9 million) and Saskatchewan (-$43.8 million). Investment in single-unit construction was up 2.9% to $5.2 billion, driven by Ontario (+$139.3 million) and Nova Scotia (+$32.6 million). This increase more than offset the decline in investment in multi-unit construction.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing Statistics Portal.
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction
Infographic 1
Investment in residential construction, July 2019
Non-residential investment largely unchanged
The commercial (+0.3% to $2.8 billion), industrial (+0.2% to $911.1 million) and institutional components (+0.1% to $1.1 billion) were all up slightly in July.
On an unadjusted basis, investment in new non-residential building construction grew 3.3% to $2.3 billion, led by the province of Quebec (+9.4% to $404.7 million). This was attributable in part to projects such as a government building valued at $151.0 million in the newly developing eco-neighborhood of Estimauville in the city of Québec.
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential construction, July 2019
Note to readers
Unadjusted data for the current reference month are subject to revision as a result of late responses. Data for the previous month have been revised. Seasonally adjusted data are revised for the previous two months.
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 (table 18-10-0135-01). Typically, the first two months of a quarter use the previous quarter's 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 in January 2018, building permits received from municipalities for structures coded as cottages, regardless of value, are classified to structure type "cottages."
Effective November 23, 2018, table 34-10-0175-01 contains data on both the residential and non-residential sectors. 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 August will be released on October 21.
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Contact information
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