Investment in building construction, October 2021
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Released: 2021-12-09
$17.8 billion
October 2021
1.6% 
(monthly change)
Investment in building construction increased 1.6% to $17.8 billion in October, following five months of declines. Provincially, Quebec led the way, with growth of 3.5%.
On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased 1.6% to $12.3 billion.
Chart 1
Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Residential construction investment bucks recent trend
Residential construction investment rose 1.4% to $12.9 billion in October, the first increase in five months. Quebec (+3.3%) and Saskatchewan (+16.7%) were among the provinces leading the national gain.
Investment in single family homes edged up 0.6% to $7.0 billion, with notable gains in Quebec and Alberta. Conversely, a decrease reported in Ontario (-2.2%) partially offset the growth observed in much of the country.
Multi-unit construction investment rose 2.4% to $5.9 billion, led by gains in Ontario and Quebec. By contrast, New Brunswick posted a sixth consecutive monthly decline, falling to the lowest level since April 2020.
Infographic 1
Investment in residential building construction, October 2021
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Non-residential construction investment continues to show strength
Non-residential construction investment was up across all components in October, with an overall increase of 2.0% to $4.9 billion, the highest value since July 2020.
Commercial investment rose 2.6% to $2.7 billion. British Columbia was the only province to post a decrease (-0.8%), continuing a slight downward trend that began in November 2019.
Investment in the institutional component rose 1.3% to $1.4 billion, with Quebec (+5.8%) largely behind the gain. However, six provinces reported declines for the month.
Industrial construction investment increased 1.4% to $839 million, mainly driven by gains in Ontario (+1.8%).
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential building construction, October 2021
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing Statistics Portal.
Note to readers
Unadjusted data for the current reference month are subject to revision based on late responses. Data for the previous month have been revised. Seasonally adjusted data for the previous two months have also been revised.
Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted with current dollar values unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data allows month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Monthly estimates in 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 the data 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.
Next release
Data on investment in building construction for November will be released on January 13, 2022.
Products
A study titled "Price trends and outlook in key Canadian housing markets" looks at where the housing market was at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sheds light on what has happened since then and explores the challenges facing the Canadian market going forward.
Statistics Canada has a Housing Market Indicators dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and by census metropolitan area. These indicators are automatically updated with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.
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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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