According to Statistics Canada, in the first quarter of 2016 total investment in residential construction rose 2.1 percent compared with the same quarter in 2015 to $26.1 billion. This marked the ninth consecutive year-over-year gain.
The increase came from all components, except acquisition costs related to new dwelling units and semi-detached dwellings. Higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction (up 21.2 percent to $4.1 billion) was responsible for much of the advance at the national level.
At the provincial level, increases were recorded in four provinces, with Ontario and British Columbia registering the largest gains (11.3 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively).