Canadian investment in new housing construction increased 4.2 percent to C$3.5 billion (US$2.9 billion) in March compared with the same month in 2014, according to Statistics Canada.
Investment rose in all dwelling types with apartment and apartment-condominium buildings accounting for much of the national advance. Investment in apartment and apartment-condominium buildings rose 7.5 percent to C$1.2 billion (US$1 billion), while spending on single-family homes increased 1.5 percent to C$1.8 billion (US$1.5 billion).
Investment in row house construction advanced 7.7 percent to C$351 million (US$287.9 million) and spending on semi-detached dwellings rose 5.1 percent to C$193 million (US$158.3 million).
At the provincial level, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario recorded the largest year-over-year increases.
In Alberta, total investment in new residential construction increased 15 percent to C$937 million (US$768.4 million). In British Columbia, spending was up 13.3 percent to C$643 million (US$527.3 million), while in Ontario, investment rose 2.4 percent to C$1.1 billion (US$0.9 billion).
Conversely, Quebec posted the largest decline, with total investment falling 9.3 percent to C$481 million (US$394.5 million). Lower spending in single-family dwellings was mostly responsible for the decrease, down 19 percent to C$154 million (US$126.3 million).
Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador posted the second and third largest declines. In Saskatchewan, total investment declined 11.5 percent to C$112 million (US$91.9 million) and in Newfoundland and Labrador, total spending fell 25.1 percent to C$36 million (US$29.5 million).
