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Investment in non-residential building construction, February 2025. (Source: Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0286-01—Investment in Building Construction.)
Investment in building construction rose 1.5 per cent in February, with monthly gains being recorded across all components, reports Statistics Canada. Overall growth of $331.7 million, compared to January, brought the national investment figure to $22.4 billion in February. By sector, residential increased 1.8 per cent to $15.7 billion, while non-residential investment was up 0.8 per cent to $6.8 billion. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 8.9 per cent in February.
Strong gains in the multi-unit segment in Ontario and British Columbia paced investment in residential building construction, which increased by $277.5 million to $15.7 billion in February.
Ontario’s rise of $357.8 million in the multi-unit segment, along with British Columbia’s jump of $53.1 million, more than offset monthly dips experienced in Alberta, Nova Scotia and four other provinces and three territories. Nationally, investment in multi-unit construction rose $241.5 million to $8.4 billion in February.
In the single-family home segment, investment was up $36 million to $7.3 billion in February. Gains in Quebec and four other provinces were mitigated by decreases recorded in the remaining provinces and territories.
On the non-residential side, the institutional component was the biggest driver of monthly growth as investment in non-residential construction increased $54.2 million to $6.8 billion in February, although all three components were in growth phases compared to January. Institutional investment grew by $26.7 million, commercial by $15.1 million, and industrial saw a rise of $12.4 million.
Those gains brought investment in the institutional component to $2 billion in February, marking the eighth consecutive monthly increase. Overall growth was largely driven by Ontario but was also supported by gains in eight other provinces and two territories. A $9.4 million drop in Quebec tempered the national rise.
Commercial construction investment came in at $3.3 billion in February, again with Ontario leading in growth, but also joined by New Brunswick with a significant rise in investment. Those gains were slightly offset by declines in Quebec and British Columbia, however.
And the industrial component rose to $1.5 billion as growth was recorded in seven provinces and two territories. Once again, Ontario led the way.