According to Statistics Canada, month over month, investment in building construction declined 1.1 percent to $19.3 billion in February. Investment in the residential sector decreased 1.2 percent to $13.4 billion, while investment in the non-residential sector fell 0.9 percent to $6.0 billion.
Investment in residential building construction decreased $157 million (-1.2 percent) to $13.4 billion in February, marking the second monthly decline in a row. The monthly decline in February was led by Ontario (-$153 million to $5.2 billion). Meanwhile, investment in residential building construction edged up in six provinces, led by Newfoundland and Labrador (+$16 million to $78 million).
Nationally, investment in detached single-family homes increased 1.3 percent to $6.7 billion in February, with all provinces and territories apart from Yukon reporting gains for this component. At the same time, multi-unit investment decreased 3.5 percent to $6.7 billion in February, driven by declines in Ontario (-6.0 percent to $2.6 billion) and Quebec (-4.9 percent to $1.2 billion) as the pace of new starts slowed from earlier in 2023.
Investment in the non-residential sector decreased by $52 million (-0.9 percent) to $6.0 billion in February, as gains in the institutional component (+$29 million to $1.7 billion) were outweighed by declines in industrial (-$4 million to $1.3 billion) and commercial (-$77 million to $3.0 billion) investment.
The decline in commercial investment for February represented the eighth consecutive monthly decline, with seven provinces contributing to the negative movement.