The total value of investment in building construction decreased by $491.4 million to $21.8 billion in May. Investment in the residential sector fell 3.0%, while the non-residential sector edged down 0.4%.
On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction in May was down 2.3% from the previous month and was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis.
Chart 1: Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Description - Chart 1
Data table: Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01.
Multi-unit component leads residential construction decline
Investment in residential building construction declined by $462.6 million to $15.0 billion in May. Losses were recorded in the construction of both multi-unit dwellings (-3.4%) and single-family homes (-2.5%).
In May, investment in multi-unit construction dropped by $295.2 million to $8.5 billion. The monthly decline was largely attributed to Ontario (-$166.4 million) and Quebec (-$159.0 million). Meanwhile, Alberta (+$50.4 million) saw notable gains, followed by Saskatchewan (+$20.2 million).
Single-family home investment decreased by $167.4 million to $6.6 billion in May. Ontario (-$80.4 million) accounted for nearly half of the decrease, followed by six other provinces and three territories.
Figure 1: Month-to-month change in residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted)
Description - Figure 1
This is a map of Canada by province and territory, showing the month-to-month percentage changes for investment in residential building construction. Green arrows pointing upward represent an increase, while red arrows pointing downward represent a decrease.
Investment in residential construction for Canada decreased 3.0% in May compared with April 2025. Newfoundland and Labrador was up 23.4%, Prince Edward Island was down 15.4%, Nova Scotia was up 4.4%, New Brunswick was down 15.6%, Quebec was down 5.7%, Ontario was down 4.2%, Manitoba was down 1.6%, Saskatchewan was up 8.5%, Alberta was up 1.9%, British Columbia was down 2.2%, Yukon was down 14.1%, Northwest Territories was up 686.9% and Nunavut was down 46.3%.
Table 1: Total investment, millions of dollars (seasonally adjusted).
Total investment for Canada was $15,020.3 million, total investment for Newfoundland and Labrador was $106.0 million, total investment for Prince Edward Island was $83.3 million, total investment for Nova Scotia was $463.5 million, total investment for New Brunswick was $300.8 million, total investment for Quebec was $3,322.9 million, total investment for Ontario was $5,609.2 million, total investment for Manitoba was $496.6 million, total investment for Saskatchewan was $360.3 million, total investment for Alberta was $1,817.7 million, total investment for British Columbia was $2,394.4 million, total investment for Yukon was $18.8 million, total investment for Northwest Territories was $34.2 million and total investment for Nunavut was $12.8 million.
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01—Investment in Building Construction.
Figure 2: Investment in residential construction, market share and year-over-year change (not seasonally adjusted)
Description - Figure 2
Single homes: Market share was 27.9% and total investment totalled $1,965.0 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 5.5% or $114.4 million.
Semi-detached homes: Market share was 3.0% and total investment totalled $208.9 million, representing a year-over-year decrease of 1.4% or $3.0 million.
Row homes: Market share was 10.3% and total investment totalled $724.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.5% or $3.3 million.
Condos and rental apartments: Market share was 58.9% and total investment totalled $4,155.2 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 21.4% or $733.1 million.
Note: Single homes value excludes cottages and mobile homes.
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01—Investment in Building Construction.
Chart 2: Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Description - Chart 2
Data table: Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01.
Non-residential investment declines slightly
The value of non-residential investment in building construction edged down by $28.8 million to $6.8 billion in May. Declines in the industrial (-1.3%) and commercial (-0.5%) components were mitigated by a gain in the institutional component (+0.2%).
Investment in the industrial component decreased by $18.0 million to $1.4 billion in May. The fall was largely due to declines in Quebec (-$10.9 million) and Ontario (-$7.1 million). Nova Scotia (+$2.3 million) led the increases recorded in five provinces and one territory.
Investment in the commercial component declined by $15.9 million to $3.3 billion in May. Decreases were recorded in eight provinces and two territories, led by Ontario (-$8.8 million).
Meanwhile, investment in the institutional component edged up by $5.1 million to $2.1 billion in May. Gains in Alberta (+$8.5 million) and six other provinces were partially offset by a decline in Quebec (-$13.9 million).
Figure 3: Month-to-month change in non-residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted)
Description - Figure 3
This is a map of Canada by province and territory, showing the month-to-month percentage changes for investment in non-residential building construction. Green arrows pointing upward represent an increase, while red arrows pointing downward represent a decrease.
Investment in non-residential construction for Canada decreased 0.4% in May compared with April 2025. Newfoundland and Labrador was down 5.1%, Prince Edward Island was down 5.3%, Nova Scotia was up 4.7%, New Brunswick was up 3.0%, Quebec was down 2.5%, Ontario was down 0.4%, Manitoba was down 0.4%, Saskatchewan was down 0.4%, Alberta was up 0.7%, British Columbia was up 0.5%, Yukon was up 7.2%, Northwest Territories was down 10.2% and Nunavut was down 7.8%.
Table 1: Total investment, millions of dollars (seasonally adjusted).
Total investment for Canada was $6,791.1 million, total investment for Newfoundland and Labrador was $25.7 million, total investment for Prince Edward Island was $24.7 million, total investment for Nova Scotia was $126.6 million, total investment for New Brunswick was $107.5 million, total investment for Quebec was $1,243.7 million, total investment for Ontario was $2,955.2 million, total investment for Manitoba was $228.1 million, total investment for Saskatchewan was $178.8 million, total investment for Alberta was $834.3 million, total investment for British Columbia was $1,027.5 million, total investment for Yukon was $24.6 million, total investment for Northwest Territories was $2.7 million and total investment for Nunavut was $11.8 million.
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01—Investment in Building Construction.
Figure 4: Investment in non-residential construction, market share and year-over-year change (seasonally adjusted)
Description - Figure 4
Industrial: Market share was 20.9% and total investment totalled $1,420.2 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.0% or $0.7 million.
Commercial: Market share was 48.8% and total investment totalled $3,311.4 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 0.3% or $9.5 million.
Institutional: Market share was 30.3% and total investment totalled $2,059.5 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 9.5% or $178.4 million.
Source: Table 34-10-0293-01—Investment in Building Construction.
Note to readers
Table 34-10-0286 has been archived on the Statistics Canada website and will no longer be updated but may still be viewed. The successor table is 34-10-0293, and the information from January 2017 onwards that was in table 34-10-0286 is still available in the new table, except for the constant dollar series, which has been rebased to 2017=100. Constant dollar data for January and February 2017 represent an average between the old base year (2012=100) and the new base year (2023=100) and should be used with caution. The 2017 data series will be backcasted and the figures will be revised with the release of our annual revision.
Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, delayed construction start dates for large projects, methodological changes, classification updates, price index updates for constant dollar series, benchmarking and adjustments to ad hoc macroeconomic events. Unadjusted data have been revised back to January 2023. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised back to January 2017.
Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted with current dollar values unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data allows month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data—Frequently asked questions.
Monthly estimates for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0276-01). The monthly indexes used for the deflation process were part of a methodology review to increase the quality of the constant dollar and seasonally adjusted series. The indexes previously displayed a step pattern because of less frequent collection.
Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.
The trade and services subcomponent includes buildings such as retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and motor vehicle show rooms. More detailed information can be found on the Integrated Metadatabase at Types of Building Structure - 2.2.1 - Trade and services.
Reference
Data table: 34-10-0293-01.
- Note: some data tables may best be viewed on desktop.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5014.
Previous release: Investment in building construction, April 2025.
Next release: August 19, 2025.
Contact information
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