Canadian investment in non-residential building construction increased 4.4 percent to $13 billion in the third quarter, following a 2.7 percent decline in the second quarter. The gain in the third quarter was attributable to the end of a construction strike in Quebec as well as increases in five other provinces, particularly Alberta.
Total investment rose in six provinces in the third quarter. The most substantial gain occurred in Quebec, as investment rebounded to levels similar to those before the June construction strike. Alberta posted a strong increase as a result of higher spending in commercial, institutional and industrial components.
Overall, four provinces posted declines in the third quarter. Ontario recorded the largest drop, mostly as a result of lower commercial and institutional investment.
Census Metropolitan Areas
Investment increased in 21 of 34 census metropolitan areas. The largest gains were in Montréal, Québec and Calgary.
Spending on the construction of commercial, institutional and industrial buildings was up in both Montréal and Québec. In Calgary, the increase resulted from higher commercial and institutional investments.
The largest declines occurred in Toronto and Edmonton. In Toronto, investment declined for the fourth consecutive quarter, as spending fell across all three components.
In Edmonton, total investment fell for the second consecutive quarter and was the result of declines in commercial and institutional components.
Commercial Component
Investment in commercial building construction reached $7.8 billion in the third quarter, up 3.1 percent from the previous quarter. Advances in this component came mainly from the construction of office buildings in seven provinces, as well as recreational buildings in six provinces.
Commercial investment increased in four provinces. The largest gain occurred in Quebec, where investment rose 23.9 percent to $1.5 billion, following an 11.4 percent drop in the second quarter. This gain was led by higher spending in the construction of retail and wholesale outlets, recreational and office buildings.
In Alberta, commercial investment rose 1.9 percent to $1.8 billion, mostly as a result of higher spending on office and recreational buildings.
After six consecutive quarters of increases, Ontario posted the largest decline, as spending was down 1.5 percent to $2.8 billion. The decrease was the result of lower spending spread among several commercial building categories.
Institutional Component
Investment in institutional construction rose 6.3 percent in the third quarter to $3.4 billion, following nine consecutive quarters of declines. The biggest contributing factor to the gain was higher spending on the construction of educational facilities in nine provinces.
Overall, seven provinces posted increases in the institutional component. The largest gains were in Quebec and Alberta, both of which recorded higher spending in the construction of educational buildings and health care facilities.
In contrast, Ontario had the largest decline, as lower spending was spread among several institutional buildings categories.
Industrial Component
Investment in industrial projects increased in seven provinces, rising 6.2 percent to $1.8 billion in the third quarter. This was mainly the result of higher spending on the construction of maintenance buildings and primary industry buildings.
Quebec posted the largest gain, as investment rose 26.9 percent to $424 million. Higher spending on construction of manufacturing facilities and primary industry buildings led the increase. Alberta followed with a gain of 8.1 percent to $411 million, largely as a result of the construction of maintenance and utilities buildings.
Newfoundland and Labrador, British Columbia and Ontario posted declines in the third quarter, which were largely attributable to lower spending in the construction of manufacturing buildings.
