Ontario Construction News staff writer
Building construction investment dropped 3.6 per cent to $15.4 billion in March, according to a Statistics Canada report.
In the face of COVID-19 and government shut-downs, non-residential sectors fell, with the largest impact in Quebec, where non-essential building construction was shutdown March 25.
In Ontario there was a two per cent increase with more than $6.5 billion in total investments.
Across Canada non-residential construction investment dropped 4.3 per cent to $4.9 billion—the first overall decline recorded since November 2018. All three components reported losses.
The value of commercial investments dropped 4.2 per cent to $2.9 billion, but Ontario investment increased by 0.3 per cent to $1.1 billion. Institutional construction dropped 4.2 per cent to $1.1 billion with the largest drop – 12.1 per cent in Quebec. Meanwhile, Ontario recorded an increase of 0.6 per cent to $427 million.
Investment in industrial construction dropped 5 per cent nationally, while Ontario recorded a drop of $8 million.
Residential construction dropped 3.3 per cent to $10.5 billion in Canada and increased about three per cent in Ontario.
Investment in single-unit dwellings was up 0.6 per cent across the country and 5.8 per cent in Ontario – up to $2.4 billion. Investment in multi-unit construction rose slightly in Ontario – $3 million to $2.17 billion.
Statistics Canada also reported that total building construction investment jumped one per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2019. Ontario led the way with a two per cent increase.
Residential investment increased by 0.8 percent in the first quarter, with increases in multi-unit dwellings higher than single-unit dwellings. Quebec and Ontario reported the largest gains in residential construction.
All three components of non-residential investment increased in the first quarter of 2020: Commercial investment by 1.8 per cent; institutional investment up 0.3 per cent and industrial investment up 0.5 per cent.