Investment in building construction continued an upward trend in July, jumping one per cent to $21 billion, Statistics Canada reports.
Specifically, non-residential construction increased 0.1 per cent to $5.3 billion in July, ahead of July 2021, and commercial investment increased 0.5 per cent to $3 billion – mainly due to multiple projects in Vancouver.
Details from the Stats Can report:
- New warehouse construction contributed significantly to the growth, increasing 42 per cent on an unadjusted basis since March 2021, due to strong growth in e-commerce and the need for large facilities for rapid delivery.
- Investment in new office buildings continued falling as the number of unoccupied offices across Canada continued to increase.
- Investment in the industrial component jumped more than two per cent, to $1billion in July, with gains in seven provinces.
- Institutional construction fell 2.3 per cent to $1.4 billion, the largest decline since April 2020.
- Residential building construction gained one per cent to $15.7 billion.
- Single-family home investment up to $8.6 billion.