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Select geography Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Yukon Northwest Territories Nunavut Investment in new housing construction — Canada $4,482.2 million February 2018 9.5% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — N.L. $26.0 million February 2018 2.0% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — P.E.I. $10.9 million February 2018 42.7% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — N.S. $57.3 million February 2018 -17.5% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — N.B. $27.3 million February 2018 16.5% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Que. $693.5 million February 2018 29.2% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Ont. $1,787.3 million February 2018 1.9% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Man. $109.3 million February 2018 7.3% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Sask. $81.0 million February 2018 -10.1% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Alta. $666.1 million February 2018 9.5% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — B.C. $1,017.4 million February 2018 17.5% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Y.T. $2.6 million February 2018 -29.3% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — N.W.T. $1.3 million February 2018 -58.1% (12-month change) Investment in new housing construction — Nvt. $2.0 million February 2018 44.6% (12-month change)

Investment in new housing construction increased 9.5% from February 2017 to $4.5 billion in February.

The year-over-year increase was led by spending on multiple-unit construction (apartment buildings, row houses and semi-detached houses), while spending on single-family homes was down compared with February 2017.

February marked the fourth consecutive month that the year-over-year increase in spending on apartment building construction outpaced spending on single houses. Apartment building construction rose in eight provinces, led by Quebec (+$182.4 million), Ontario (+$80.3 million) and British Columbia (+$74.3 million).

Spending on row house construction increased 24.1% (+$97.7 million) compared with February 2017, mainly driven by investment in Ontario (+$50.8 million), Alberta (+$23.0 million) and British Columbia (+$18.6 million).

Investment in semi-detached houses rose by 16.6% (+$29.4 million) in February compared with the same month in 2017, led by additional investment in Ontario (+$23.4 million).

Chart 1

Investment in new housing construction, by type of dwelling

Spending on single homes in February declined 3.8% (-$80.9 million) year over year. The decrease was mostly due to lower spending in Ontario, down 12.1% (-$121.9 million).

Quebec and British Columbia posted the strongest year-over-year growth in spending on new housing construction in February, while Prince Edward Island posted the highest year-over-year percentage increase (+42.7%). In Quebec, investment was up by 29.2% or $156.6 million, solely driven by higher investment in apartment building construction. In British Columbia, investment was up by 17.5% or $151.4 million, with gains reported for all building types, driven by apartment building construction (+$74.3 million) and, to a lesser extent, by single-family house construction (+$51.2 million).

Chart 2

Year-over-year change of investment in new housing construction (by dwelling type)

Infographic 1

New housing construction investment, February 2018

Note to readers Data on investment in new housing construction (including single-family housing, semi-detached housing, row housing, apartments and condominiums) are not seasonally adjusted, and all comparisons in this release are between February 2017 and February 2018. Data in CANSIM are available at the national and provincial–territorial levels in both current and constant dollars (base year 2007). Unless otherwise specified, the highlights refer to current dollars and are ranked in terms of dollar change rather than percentage change.

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