Building construction price indexes, second quarter 2025
Released: 2025-07-24
National overview
Residential building construction costs increased 1.0% in the second quarter, following a 0.9% increase in the previous quarter. Non-residential building construction costs rose 1.6% in the second quarter, following a 1.0% increase in the previous quarter.
Year over year, construction costs for residential buildings in the 15-census metropolitan area (CMA) composite rose 3.7% in the second quarter, while non-residential building construction costs were up 4.0%.
The tariffs imposed by the United States and the countermeasure tariffs implemented by Canada on certain imports from the United States have increased volatility in both pricing and availability of certain materials. Builders reported that uncertainty surrounding tariffs and tariff countermeasures continued to create challenges in securing contracts and has contributed to delays in project starts. At the same time, persistent skilled labour shortages continued to push labour rates higher in several regions across the country. As building activity remained modest in many regions of the country in the second quarter and project starts were delayed, competition for available work intensified in some areas, putting pressure on margins.
Price increases at the component level were partly influenced by rising construction material costs, including some affected by tariffs and associated countermeasures. However, subdued construction activity in major regions like Toronto and Vancouver offset upward pressure at the aggregate level.
Chart 1
Building construction price indexes, quarterly change, second quarter of 2025
Plumbing division leads residential construction cost growth
In the second quarter, residential building construction costs rose across all 15 CMAs measured, although increases varied widely by region. Québec (+3.4%) experienced the largest quarterly increase, driven by higher wage rates. Regina (+2.8%) experienced the second strongest increases in costs, followed by London (+2.5%) and Montréal (+2.4%). Calgary (+0.4%) and Toronto (+0.2%) experienced the lowest quarterly growth in residential construction costs.
At the 15-CMA composite level for residential buildings, the plumbing (+3.7%), HVAC (+3.0%), utilities (+2.9%) and structural steel framing (+2.7%) divisions recorded the largest quarterly increases in the second quarter. Several components within each of these divisions experienced large price increases, many of which were impacted by the 25% countermeasure tariffs implemented by Canada in mid-March. The wood, plastic and composites (-0.2%) and conveying equipment (-0.7%) divisions experienced quarterly price declines.
Québec leads non-residential construction cost growth
Costs to construct non-residential buildings increased the most in Québec (+3.4%), followed by Montréal (+2.6%), and London (+2.5%) in the second quarter. The increases reported across the province of Quebec were primarily driven by rising labour costs, while all regions measured experienced price increases concentrated primarily in divisions that rely heavily on metal-based materials such as plumbing, metal fabrications, and structural steel. Victoria (+0.9%) and Halifax (+0.7%) recorded the smallest increases.
At the composite level, non-residential building construction costs increased across all divisions measured in the second quarter, with the structural steel framing (+3.4%) and plumbing (+2.5%) divisions recording the largest increases. Some of the largest price increases in these components were seen across the Prairies and Quebec.
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Note to readers
The building construction price indexes are quarterly series that measure the change over time in the prices that contractors charge to construct a range of new commercial, institutional, industrial and residential buildings in 15 census metropolitan areas (CMAs): St. John's, Halifax, Moncton, Québec, Montréal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria. Provincial-level indexes are also calculated and are based on the respective CMA-level movements.
These buildings include six non-residential structures: an office building, a warehouse, a shopping centre, a factory, a school, and a bus depot with maintenance and repair facilities. In addition, indexes are produced for four residential structures: a single-detached house, a townhouse, a high-rise apartment building (five storeys or more) and a low-rise apartment building (fewer than five storeys).
The contractor's price reflects the value of all materials, labour, equipment, overhead and profit to construct a new building. It excludes value-added taxes and any costs for land, land assembly, building design, land development and real estate fees.
With each release, data for the previous quarter may have been revised. The index is not seasonally adjusted.
With the publication of data for the third quarter of 2024, the indexes have been rebased to 2023=100 and table 18-10-0276 has been archived and replaced by table 18-10-0289. The information that was in table 18-10-0276 has been rebased and is also available in the new table, except for the four new CMAs, which include Québec, London, Regina, and Victoria, for which data are only available from 2023 onwards. Even though the indexes have been rebased, the quarterly changes of the indexes prior to 2023 are identical to what was released in the previous tables. Any differences that are identified are due to rounding. The quarterly changes from 2023 onwards may have changed because the weights were updated and four CMAs were added.
CMA-level and building-level weights are available on an annual basis and can be found in table 18-10-0290. Further, division-level weights for all building types within each CMA are available on an annual basis and can be found in table 18-10-0287.
Products
The Building Construction Price Indexes Data Visualization Tool is now available. It provides access to current and historical data from the Building Construction Price Index (BCPI) for four residential and six non-residential building types, for the CMAs of St. John's, Halifax, Moncton, Québec, Montréal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, London, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria, as well as for a composite of these 15 CMAs, in a dynamic and customizable format.
The Technical Guide for the Building Construction Price Index, 2023 is now available. This document provides details on the methodology used to calculate the BCPI.
Statistics Canada launched the Producer Price Indexes Portal as part of a suite of portals for prices and price indexes. This webpage provides Canadians with a single point of access to a wide variety of statistics and measures related to producer prices.
The video "Producer price indexes" is available on the Statistics Canada Training Institute webpage. It provides an introduction to Statistics Canada's producer price indexes: what they are, how they are made and what they are used for.
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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