New housing construction investment in Canada totalled $4.4 billion in January, up +9.4% compared with January 2017. Investment was up for all dwelling types, said Statistics Canada Wednesday.

Spending rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$139.1 million), British Columbia (+$128.3 million) and Alberta (+$82.6 million). The increase in Quebec was driven by investment in apartment building construction.

Canada Construction Investment: January 2018

In British Columbia, year-over-year gains were posted for all dwelling types, with single homes (+$52.3 million) and apartments (+$52.1 million) accounting for the majority of the increase.

In Alberta, spending increased in every component, led by single homes (+$56.6 million), which accounted for over two-thirds of the increase compared with January 2017.

Apartment buildings were the largest contributor to the year-over-year growth in residential construction investment in Canada, up $232.5 million (+16.9%) in January. Expenditures on apartment buildings were up in every province, led by Quebec (+$153.3 million) and followed by British Columbia (+$52.1 million). Apartment building construction accounted for 62.1% of total construction investment in Quebec compared with 49.7% in January 2017.

Single home construction investment (+0.2%) reported the smallest year-over-year increase since January 2016.