Statistics Canada
www.statcan.gc.ca
Common menu bar links
Investment in non-residential building construction
Investment in non-residential building construction reached $10.8 billion (in current dollars) in the first quarter of 2009, down 1.8% from the fourth quarter of 2008. This marks the first decline since the fourth quarter of 2004.
Investment in the commercial and industrial components fell. Investors injected $6.6 billion in commercial projects, down 3.0% from the fourth quarter of 2008. For the industrial component, investment fell 4.7% to $1.2 billion.
In contrast, spending in the institutional component continued to rise, up 2.5% to $3.0 billion.
Overall, five provinces and two territories posted declines in the first quarter. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta reported the sharpest drops, mainly the result of lower spending on commercial construction.
Saskatchewan posted the strongest increase as a result of higher spending in all components.
Investment fell in 17 of the 34 census metropolitan areas. The largest drops were in Calgary, Montréal and Toronto, mainly because of the decline in commercial construction projects.
However, Edmonton posted $643 million in investments, a 4.3% increase as a result of advances in the institutional and commercial components.
Note to readers
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which ease comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations.
Investments in non-residential building construction exclude engineering construction. This series is based on the Building Permits Survey of municipalities, which collects information on construction intentions.
Work put-in-place patterns are assigned to each type of structure (industrial, commercial and institutional). These work patterns are used to distribute the value of building permits according to project length. Work put-in-place patterns differ according to the value of the construction project; a project worth several million dollars will usually take longer to complete than will a project of a few hundred thousand dollars.
Additional data from the Capital and Repair Expenditures Surveys are used to create this investment series. Investment in non-residential building data are benchmarked to Statistics Canada's System of National Accounts of non-residential building investment series.
For the purpose of the Investment in non-residential building construction release, the census metropolitan area of Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec) is divided into two areas: Ottawa part and Gatineau part.
Decrease in the commercial component
Investment in the construction of commercial buildings (-3.0%) fell for the first time since the first quarter of 2005. The drop was a result of spending on the construction of office buildings and commercial centres in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
All of the other provinces posted increases in the commercial component.
Decline in the industrial component
Investment in the construction of industrial buildings fell because of the drop in investments in the construction of primary industry buildings in every province, and in the construction of maintenance buildings in seven provinces.
At the provincial level, Ontario posted the sharpest decline (in dollars), with decreased investment in every category of industrial building.
In contrast, Saskatchewan and Alberta posted increases in industrial construction, including manufacturing plants and utilities buildings.
Growth in the institutional component
The construction of health care buildings drove the institutional component upwards for a fifth straight quarter.
Higher investments were posted in seven provinces in the first quarter. Ontario and Alberta posted the most significant dollar increases due to the construction of health care buildings.
In contrast, Quebec posted the sharpest decline (in dollars), which was attributed to the construction of teaching facilities.
Available on CANSIM: table 026-0016.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5014.
More detailed data on investment in non-residential building construction are also available in free tables online from the Summary tables module of our website.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, Bechir Oueriemmi (613-951-1165; bdp_information@statcan.gc.ca), Investment and Capital Stock Division.
Table 1
| First quarter 2008 | Fourth quarter 2008 | First quarter 2009 | Fourth quarter 2008 to first quarter 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||
| $ millions | % change | |||
| Total | 7,889 | 8,328 | 8,225 | -1.2 |
| St. John's | 32 | 54 | 55 | 2.2 |
| Halifax | 72 | 96 | 98 | 2.0 |
| Moncton | 48 | 50 | 46 | -7.1 |
| Saint John | 29 | 33 | 37 | 13.3 |
| Saguenay | 39 | 37 | 32 | -13.9 |
| Québec | 241 | 274 | 265 | -3.4 |
| Sherbrooke | 38 | 53 | 51 | -2.2 |
| Trois-Rivières | 51 | 54 | 50 | -7.7 |
| Montréal | 894 | 919 | 868 | -5.6 |
| Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario/Quebec | 373 | 344 | 356 | 3.7 |
| Gatineau part | 56 | 62 | 78 | 26.1 |
| Ottawa part | 317 | 282 | 279 | -1.2 |
| Kingston | 59 | 90 | 79 | -12.5 |
| Peterborough | 15 | 27 | 28 | 1.8 |
| Oshawa | 90 | 110 | 106 | -3.2 |
| Toronto | 1,921 | 1,967 | 1,921 | -2.4 |
| Hamilton | 168 | 231 | 232 | 0.5 |
| St. Catharines–Niagara | 70 | 59 | 53 | -10.1 |
| Kitchener | 141 | 185 | 189 | 2.1 |
| Brantford | 24 | 22 | 23 | 2.8 |
| Guelph | 49 | 35 | 33 | -5.7 |
| London | 151 | 176 | 168 | -4.4 |
| Windsor | 76 | 60 | 51 | -14.2 |
| Barrie | 60 | 85 | 102 | 20.6 |
| Greater Sudbury | 71 | 59 | 62 | 4.6 |
| Thunder Bay | 21 | 37 | 42 | 14.9 |
| Winnipeg | 128 | 148 | 153 | 4.0 |
| Regina | 79 | 61 | 72 | 19.0 |
| Saskatoon | 114 | 163 | 188 | 15.1 |
| Calgary | 1,277 | 1,244 | 1,191 | -4.3 |
| Edmonton | 473 | 617 | 643 | 4.3 |
| Kelowna | 80 | 74 | 74 | 0.1 |
| Abbotsford | 53 | 57 | 46 | -19.3 |
| Vancouver | 858 | 815 | 807 | -1.0 |
| Victoria | 95 | 93 | 102 | 9.2 |
Table 2
| First quarter 2008 | Fourth quarter 2008 | First quarter 2009 | Fourth quarter 2008 to first quarter 2009 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasonally adjusted | ||||
| $ millions | % change | |||
| Canada | 10,432 | 10,961 | 10,766 | -1.8 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 57 | 92 | 90 | -1.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 21 | 28 | 32 | 14.4 |
| Nova Scotia | 151 | 169 | 174 | 3.0 |
| New Brunswick | 152 | 153 | 159 | 3.9 |
| Quebec | 1,719 | 1,879 | 1,797 | -4.4 |
| Ontario | 3,887 | 4,037 | 3,943 | -2.3 |
| Manitoba | 199 | 217 | 218 | 0.4 |
| Saskatchewan | 262 | 319 | 353 | 10.6 |
| Alberta | 2,522 | 2,669 | 2,630 | -1.5 |
| British Columbia | 1,427 | 1,367 | 1,340 | -1.9 |
| Yukon | 12 | 8 | 5 | -36.8 |
| Northwest Territories | 19 | 14 | 17 | 20.0 |
| Nunavut | 3 | 9 | 8 | -10.5 |
