Canadian investment in new housing construction increased 2 percent to C$3.9 billion (US$3 billion) in May compared with the same month in 2014, according to Statistics Canada.
Higher investment in apartment and apartment-condominium building construction was responsible for most of the national advance, rising 12.8 percent to C$1.3 billion (US$1 billion). Conversely, investment in single-family dwellings fell 4.7 percent to C$1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion) and spending on semi-detached dwelling construction declined 4.9 percent to C$232 million (US$178.1 million).
At the provincial level, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Nova Scotia recorded year-over-year increases.
In Ontario, construction spending rose 14.6 percent to C$1.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) in May. In British Columbia, investment in new residential construction was up 16.2 percent to C$712 million (US$546.6 million). In Alberta, investment grew 5.1 percent to C$932 million (US$715.4 million). In Nova Scotia, spending increased 13 percent to C$43 million (US$33 million).
In contrast, Quebec registered the largest decrease, followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
In Quebec, investment in new housing construction declined 22.2 percent to C$558 million (US$428.3 million) in May. In Saskatchewan, construction spending fell 27.8 percent to C$105 million (US$80.6 million). In Manitoba, spending on new residential construction decreased 22.7 percent to C$97 million (US$74.5 million).
