Investment in building construction, March 2026
Released: 2026-05-25
$22.6 billion
March 2026
-1.3% 
(monthly change)
The total value of investment in building construction decreased $304.6 million (-1.3%) to $22.6 billion in March. Investment in the residential sector declined 2.2%, while the non-residential sector edged up 0.6%. Year over year, investment in building construction was down 2.9% in March.
On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction in March decreased 1.6% from the previous month to $20.6 billion and was down 6.4% year over year.
Chart 1
Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Widespread decline within residential construction
In March, investment in residential building construction decreased $345.4 million to $15.5 billion. Declines were recorded in both the multi-unit (-2.3%) and single-family (-2.1%) components.
Investment in multi-unit construction was down $195.5 million to $8.4 billion in March, marking the third consecutive monthly decrease. Ontario (-$152.2 million) drove the decline, supported by Alberta (-$59.0 million) and British Columbia (-$43.7 million). The decrease was tempered by gains in three provinces and two territories, led by Newfoundland and Labrador (+$29.0 million).
Meanwhile, investment in single-family home construction was down $149.9 million to $7.2 billion in March. Ontario (-$119.5 million) led the decrease, supported by broad declines across seven other provinces and one territory.
Infographic 1
Investment in residential building construction, March 2026
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Industrial component leads non-residential growth
In March, the value of non-residential investment in building construction edged up $40.8 million to $7.0 billion. Growth in the industrial component (+3.3%) and, though smaller, the commercial component (+0.1%) was moderated by a slight decline in the institutional component (-0.3%).
Industrial construction investment increased $42.5 million to $1.3 billion in March. The gain in British Columbia (+$52.2 million) was moderated by broad declines across seven provinces and one territory, led by Ontario (-$7.0 million).
Investment in the commercial component edged up $4.4 million to $3.6 billion in March. Alberta (+$9.7 million) and British Columbia (+$3.0 million) were the primary contributors to the increase, while Ontario (-$5.9 million) and Quebec (-$2.0 million) partially offset it.
Meanwhile, investment in the institutional component edged down $6.1 million to $2.1 billion in March. Declines in Quebec (-$9.3 million) and Ontario (-$2.0 million) were tempered by an increase in Alberta (+$4.4 million).
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential building construction, March 2026
Residential construction sector weighs on investment in the first quarter
The value of investment in building construction edged down 0.7% (-$512.2 million) to $68.8 billion in the first quarter. On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction decreased 1.5% to $62.9 billion.
The remainder of this release will use constant dollars (2023=100).
Investment in residential building construction declined $1.3 billion to $43.7 billion in the first quarter after two consecutive quarterly increases. The decrease was primarily attributed to the multi-unit component (-$947.9 million; -3.8%), followed by the single-family component (-$341.6 million; -1.7%).
Meanwhile, investment in non-residential building construction was up $327.1 million to $19.2 billion in the first quarter. Growth in the commercial (+$235.2 million; +2.5%) and institutional (+$113.3 million; +1.9%) components was moderated by a slight decline in the industrial component (-$21.5 million; -0.6%).
For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.
Note to readers
This content was created with the assistance of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool and refined and verified by Statistics Canada experts. To learn more about how the agency uses AI responsibly, please visit the Trust Centre.
Table 34-10-0286 has been archived on the Statistics Canada website and will no longer be updated but may still be viewed. The successor table is 34-10-0293, and the information from January 2017 onwards that was in table 34-10-0286 is still available in the new table, except for the constant dollar series, which has been rebased to 2017=100. Constant dollar data for January and February 2017 represent an average between the old base year (2012=100) and the new base year (2023=100) and should be used with caution. The 2017 data series will be backcasted and the figures will be revised with the release of our annual revision.
Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, delayed construction start dates for large projects, methodological changes, classification updates, price index updates for constant dollar series, benchmarking and adjustments to ad hoc macroeconomic events. Unadjusted data have been revised back to January 2023. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised back to January 2017.
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 for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0276-01). The monthly indexes used for the deflation process were part of a methodology review to increase the quality of the constant dollar and seasonally adjusted series. The indexes previously displayed a step pattern because of less frequent collection.
Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.
The trade and services subcomponent includes buildings such as retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and motor vehicle show rooms. More detailed information can be found on the Integrated Metadatabase at Types of Building Structure - 2.2.1 - Trade and services.
Next release
Data on investment in building construction for April will be released on June 22.
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Contact information
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