In October, the total value of investment in building construction edged down 0.5% to $22.3 billion. The residential sector declined 0.8%, while the non-residential sector increased slightly by 0.2%. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 5.7% in October.

On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction in October edged down 0.6% from the previous month to $20.6 billion and was up 2.3% year over year.

Decline in residential investment driven by single-family homes
In October, investment in residential building construction edged down $125.8 million to $15.5 billion. Declines in the single-family component (-2.5%) were moderated by a slight increase in the multi-unit component (+0.6%).

Investment in single-family home construction decreased $180.1 million to $7.0 billion in October, led by Ontario (-$131.8 million) and Alberta (-$48.9 million). In total, eight provinces and one territory contributed to this decline.

Meanwhile, investment in the multi-unit construction sector rose slightly by $54.4 million to reach $8.5 billion in October. The increase was driven by Quebec (+$154.2 million) and the Northwest Territories (+$10.2 million). These gains were partially offset by decreases in British Columbia (-$51.0 million), Manitoba (-$33.3 million) and Alberta (-$32.1 million).

Non-residential building investment increases slightly
The value of non-residential investment in building construction was up slightly by $15.5 million to reach $6.8 billion in October. Investment in the commercial and institutional components each edged up 0.3%, while the industrial component was down slightly (-0.1%).

Investment in the commercial component grew $10.0 million to $3.4 billion in October. This growth was driven by British Columbia (+$9.1 million).

Investment in the institutional component recorded a modest increase of $6.8 million to $2.1 billion in October. Gains in British Columbia (+$8.9 million) and Alberta (+$8.5 million) were tempered by a decline in Ontario (-$8.5 million).

Meanwhile, investment in the industrial component was slightly down $1.3 million to $1.3 billion in October, continuing the component’s downward trend since the record high posted in January 2025. The decline in October was led by Alberta (-$5.6 million), Ontario (-$5.3 million) and British Columbia (-$2.4 million). The decrease was partially offset by growth in Manitoba (+$7.4 million) and Quebec (+$5.1 million).

For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.

Source: Statistics Canada