Canadian new housing construction investment totaled $4.6 billion (US$3.4 billion) in April, up 8.4 percent compared with April 2016. Eight provinces posted gains, led by Ontario.
Nationally, investment increased for every dwelling type. The gain was mostly due to spending on single-family dwellings, up 10.4 percent to $2.4 billion (US$1.8 billion). Six provinces posted higher investments in single-family dwelling construction. Ontario was well ahead of the other provinces with a 22.9 percent increase over April 2016.
Investment in apartment building construction rose 1.9 percent in April, mainly attributable to higher spending in British Columbia with $61.4 million (US$46.2 million), followed by Quebec with $29.5 million (US$22.2 million). The biggest declines for this type of dwelling were in Alberta which was down $58.2 million (US$43.8 million) and Ontario which was down $14.1 million (US$10.6 million).
Year over year, investment in new row housing construction continued to increase in most provinces in April. Only Alberta, down $18.4 million (US$13.8 million), and Nova Scotia, down $0.5 million (US$0.4 million), posted declines.
Spending on semi-detached dwelling construction increased in seven provinces in April, up 13.2 percent from April 2016 to $218.1 million (US$164.2 million). Alberta posted the largest year-over-year increase with $12.9 million (US$9.7 million). Spending on semi-detached dwelling construction edged down in British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba.
Provincially, the biggest year-over-year increases were recorded in Ontario and, to a lesser degree, British Columbia and Manitoba.
In Ontario, new residential construction investment rose 15.1 percent to $1.9 billion (US$1.4 billion). Spending was up for all dwelling types except apartment buildings, which fell 2.8 percent.
New housing construction investment in British Columbia rose 6.1 percent year over year to $997.2 million (US$750.7 million). This gain was mainly attributable to increased spending on apartment building construction, as spending for this type of dwelling represents 45.6 percent of total spending on new housing construction in the province.
