Investment in Building Construction

by Joanna Gerber

Statistics Canada released its monthly numbers for investment in building construction, from January 2020 through to February 2024.

Residential and Non-Residential Construction

The investment dollars in both residential and non-residential construction generally increased from January 2020. Starting at approximately $14.2 billion in January 2020, there were peaks around mid-2021 and mid-2022, reaching over $24 billion in some months, and $17.1 billion as of February 2024.

Line graph showing investment in residential building construction from Jan-20 to Jan-24. Single dwelling building total is lower and stable. Multiple dwelling building total is higher with fluctuations.

Chart: J. Gerber; Data: Statistics Canada: Table 34-10-0286-01 Investment in Building Construction

Residential

Residential construction investments grew from $9.1 billion to 11.2 billion in February 2024. Both single dwelling and multiple dwelling construction investments experienced summer/mid-year peaks, especially in 2022.

Single Dwelling Building Total

Investments in single-dwelling buildings rose overall from around $4.2 billion in January 2020 to about $5.2 billion in February 2024.

Multiple Dwelling Building Total

The investment in multiple dwelling buildings started at approximately $5 billion in January 2020, and increased to roughly $6 billion in February 2024.

Line graph showing monthly construction investment from January 2020 to January 2024. Categories include total residential, non-residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional & governmental.

Chart: J. Gerber; Data: Statistics Canada: Table 34-10-0286-01 Investment in Building Construction

Total Non-Residential

Non-residential investments, encompassing industrial, commercial, and institutional or governmental buildings, demonstrated a relatively stable but gradually increasing trend. The total non-residential investment dollars started at about $5.1 billion in January 2020 and, by February 2024, reached around $6.2 billion.

Industrial

Investments in industrial buildings showed a gradual increase from approximately $929 million in January 2020 to around $1.3 billion by early 2024.

Commercial

Commercial investments stayed fairly stagnant, recovering from a dip in early 2020, but staying stable overall from just over $3 billion in January 2020 to just under $3 billion in February 2024.

Institutional and Governmental

Investment in institutional and governmental buildings showed an upward trend. Starting at about $1.1 billion in January 2020, investments in this category increased to reach around $1.6 billion in early 2024.