Investment in new Canadian residential construction totalled $3.8 billion in March, up 9.7 per cent from the same month a year earlier, said Statistics Canada Friday.
At the national level, higher spending on apartment and apartment-condominium buildings, which rose 19.9 per cent to $1.4 billion, and single-family dwellings, which increased 5.9 per cent to $1.9 billion, contributed the most to the advance. Investment in row houses also registered an increase, rising 9.2 per cent to $384 million.
Conversely, spending on semi-detached dwellings decreased year over year for the 11th consecutive month, down 15.1 per cent to $164 million in March.
At the provincial level, the largest increases in new housing investment were recorded in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Nova Scotia also posted an increase in construction spending.
Residential Construction Investment, Canada
In Ontario, spending increased 35.5 per cent year over year to $1.5 billion in March. Investment rose in all dwelling types except semi-detached buildings, which declined year over year for the 13th consecutive month.
Investment in new housing construction rose 28 per cent in British Columbia to $822 million. The increase was largely attributable to spending on apartment and apartment-condominium buildings. Higher investment in single-family dwellings and row houses was also observed.
In Quebec, spending totalled $541 million, up 12.5 per cent year over year. Increases in investment occurred in all dwelling types, though the gain was largely led by spending on apartment and apartment-condominium buildings.
In Nova Scotia, spending on new housing construction rose 6.7 per cent from the same month a year earlier to $53 million in March. The advance came mainly from higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction.
Investment in new housing construction decreased in the remaining provinces in March compared with March 2015. The largest decreases were observed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In Alberta, this marked the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year declines, with spending down 27.4 per cent to $681 million.