Investment in building construction rose 2.7% to $19.4 billion in October. The residential sector grew 3.9% to $13.4 billion, while investment in the non-residential sector was essentially flat, remaining at $6.0 billion.
On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased by 2.4% to $11.0 billion.
Chart 1 
Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Strong gains in the residential sector
Investment in residential building construction increased 3.9% month over month to $13.4 billion in October, with eight provinces reporting increases. The Prairie provinces, Manitoba (+16.2%), Saskatchewan (+11.5%) and Alberta (+9.5%), had the strongest gains, while Newfoundland and Labrador (-6.1%) saw the largest decline.
Investment in detached single-family homes increased 3.1% to $6.5 billion, led by a 23.3% increase in Manitoba.
Multi-unit investment (apartments, semi-detached and row homes) rose 4.6% to $6.9 billion on strong growth across all provinces, with only Newfoundland and Labrador (-8.8%) and Quebec (-1.5%) posting declines.
Infographic 1
Investment in residential building construction, October 2023
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Non-residential investment flat in October
Investment in the non-residential sector was essentially flat month over month, remaining at $6.0 billion in October. Gains in industrial (+1.0% to $1.2 billion) and institutional (+0.7% to $1.6 billion) investments were offset by declines in commercial investment (-0.7% to $3.2 billion).
Investments led to gains in the institutional sector in hospital facilities. Investment in industrial facilities was led by constructing an active cathode materials plant for the electric vehicle supply chain in Bécancour, Quebec.
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential building construction, October 2023
Note to readers
Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, methodological changes and classification updates. Unadjusted data have been revised for the previous two months. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised for the previous three months.
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.
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 due to less frequent collection.
