Canada saw building construction drop in April
Investment in building construction dropped in April, driven by a decrease in the residential sector, according to Statistics Canada.
Investment in building construction dropped in April, driven by a decrease in the residential sector, according to Statistics Canada.
Investments in residential construction fell by 4.5 per cent, with non-residential investments also down slightly by 0.3 per cent.
This brought the total value of investment down by 3.3 per cent in April.
However, it was up 5.6 per cent annually on a constant dollar basis.
“Investment in residential building construction declined by $723.0 million to $15.5 billion in April,” reads Statistics Canada’s release.
“This decrease was primarily driven by the multi-unit component (-$441.1 million to $8.7 billion), with smaller losses in the single-family component (-$281.9 million to $6.8 billion).”
Ontario led the national decrease in the construction of multi-unit residences, dropping by $410.3 million in April, with six other provinces and all three territories reporting declines.
Meanwhile, British Columbia led the remaining provinces, with an increase of $69.3 million.
Ontario also saw the largest drop in single-family home construction investment, falling $181 million.
Alberta followed with a decline of $121.4 million.
Non-residential investment fared better, down only $18.9 million in April, bringing its total investment to $6.8 billion.
“Decreases in the commercial (-1.0 per cent) and industrial (-0.8 per cent) components were mitigated by gains in the institutional component (+1.3 per cent),” said Statistics Canada.
“The commercial sector declined by $33.6 million to $3.3 billion in April. Decreases were recorded in seven provinces and two territories, led by Ontario (-$23.2 million).”
Quebec led the decline in industrial sector investment.
Meanwhile, the institutional component saw an increase of $25.8 million, with gains observed in seven provinces and two territories.
Alberta saw the highest increase in this area, and Quebec had the lowest.