Residential Investment in Building Construction Declines in September

December 15, 2025

Overall, investment in building construction decreased 1.1% to $22.4 billion in September. Investment in the residential sector declined 1.7%, while that in the non-residential sector was virtually unchanged. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 6.0% in September.

On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction in September decreased 1.4% from the previous month to $20.7 billion and was up 2.3% year over year.

Residential investment in building construction declines

Investment in residential building construction declined $263.1 million to $15.6 billion in September. This decrease was primarily attributed to the multi-unit component (-2.5%), followed by the single-family component (-0.6%).

Investment in multi-unit construction decreased $218.5 million to $8.4 billion in September. The decline was driven by Ontario (-$116.7 million), followed by Alberta (-$72.0 million) and British Columbia (-$32.7 million). In total, seven provinces and two territories contributed to this decrease.

In the single-family home construction sector, investment edged down $44.6 million to $7.3 billion in September. The decrease was largely attributed to Alberta (-$46.2 million), followed by Ontario (-$42.0 million). Quebec (+$22.5 million) and Saskatchewan (+$19.2 million) mitigated the decline.

Non-residential building investment edges up

In September, the value of non-residential investment in building construction increased slightly by $3.3 million to reach $6.8 billion. Moderate gains were observed in the institutional (+0.7%) and commercial (+0.1%) components, while the industrial component (-1.3%) continued to decline.

Investment in the institutional component rose $15.6 million to $2.1 billion in September. The increase was driven by Alberta (+$14.8 million) and supported by British Columbia (+$5.9 million). Ontario (-$6.7 million) moderated the national growth.

Commercial construction investment increased $4.6 million to $3.3 billion in September. Gains in British Columbia (+$6.5 million), Manitoba (+$5.0 million) and Quebec (+$4.9 million) were tempered by a decline in Alberta (-$6.3 million).

Meanwhile, investment in the industrial component decreased $17.0 million to $1.3 billion in September, marking the eighth consecutive monthly decrease. Ontario (-$5.8 million), Alberta (-$5.4 million) and British Columbia (-$4.0 million) led the declines among those recorded in eight provinces and one territory.

Third quarter summary: Investment in building construction edges up

In the third quarter, investment in building construction increased 0.6% (+$392.2 million) to $67.7 billion from the previous quarter and grew 7.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Investment in the residential sector rose 0.9% to $47.5 billion in the third quarter. The single-family component (+5.0%) led this increase, while the multi-unit component (-2.3%) experienced a decline.

Meanwhile, investment in non-residential building construction edged down 0.1% to $20.3 billion in the third quarter. A decline in the industrial component (-4.9%) was partially offset by gains in the institutional (+2.3%) and the commercial (+0.4%) components.

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