Residential Renovation Price Index, first quarter 2025
Released: 2025-05-09
National overview
Renovation costs rise in Quebec and across the Prairies but decline in Ontario in the first quarter
In the first quarter of 2025, residential renovation costs increased 0.3%, following a 0.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2024. This was the smallest quarterly increase since the second quarter of 2020.
The province of Alberta (+1.0%) experienced the largest quarterly cost increase in the first quarter of 2025, followed closely by Quebec (+0.9%). Ontario (-0.3%) was the only province to experience a decline.
Across the 15 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) measured, Québec (+1.4%) and Victoria (+1.4%) experienced the strongest quarterly growth in the first quarter, while Regina (+1.3%) and Calgary (+1.1%) trailed closely. Toronto (-0.5%) was the only CMA to experience a decline.
Rising concrete prices lead project cost increases
While the cost of individual renovations varied significantly by project and location, renovations requiring substantial amounts of concrete saw the largest increases in the first quarter. Additionally, projects requiring significant amounts of wood also experienced price increases, largely attributable to rising commodity prices and uncertainty surrounding tariffs on key construction materials.
In the first quarter, respondents to the Construction Contractors Survey noted gradual improvements in the availability of skilled trade workers in all regions of Canada but the Prairies. Tariff-related uncertainty was observed nationwide among respondents, in addition to delayed construction plans. In fact, consumers held off on major purchases such as renovations amid the unclear economic outlook.
Regional variations
While price increases in concrete were observed across the country in the first quarter, eastern and central Canada experienced the bulk of price increases for wood- and carpentry-related projects. This translated as higher prices to complete projects such as window replacement, fence construction and basement finishing. Meanwhile, the Prairies and Western Canada saw price increases for projects requiring more plastic and composite-related materials, affecting costs for exterior door replacement, new siding installations and metal roofing.
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Note to readers
The Residential Renovation Price Index (RRPI) measures the quarterly change over time in the prices that renovation contractors charge to complete a range of residential renovation projects. The RRPI is composed of eight separate project groups, containing a total of 37 individual projects, and is measured across 15 census metropolitan areas (CMAs).
The contractor's prices include the value of all materials, labour, equipment, overhead and profit required to construct each project. They exclude value added taxes and any costs for project design.
The price movements reflected in the index represent the average changes in prices reported by contractors in each respective CMA. The prices, however, may not necessarily reflect the price changes of the contracts that were ultimately accepted in a bidding process.
With each release, data for the previous quarter may have been revised. The index is not seasonally adjusted.
Methodology
Price data are obtained predominately from the Construction Contractors Survey and supplemented by several administrative data sources.
To aggregate the index, project group weights are derived from the Survey of Household Spending, while the relative importance of each CMA is derived from renovation building permit data.
A detailed description of the methodology can be found in the Technical Guide for the Residential Renovation Price Index (RRPI).
Products
Statistics Canada launched the Producer Price Indexes Portal as part of a suite of portals for prices and price indexes. This web page provides Canadians with a single point of access to a wide variety of statistics and measures related to producer prices.
The video "Producer price indexes" is available on the Statistics Canada Training Institute web page. It provides an introduction to Statistics Canada's producer price indexes: what they are, how they are made and what they are used for.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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