Investment in building construction continued its upward trend since October 2021, rising 0.8 per cent to $21 billion in July, according to the latest numbers from StatsCan.

Both the residential and the non-residential sectors showed increases, rising one per cent to $15.7 billion and 0.1 per cent to $5.3 billion respectively.

On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction increased 1.4 per cent to $12.8 billion.

Commercial investment was up 0.6 per cent to $3 billion for the month, cooling down after posting strong gains in June. Notable growth for the component mainly came from British Columbia (up 3.5 per cent), stemming from multiple projects across Vancouver.

At the subcomponent level, new construction for Trade and Services and Warehouses contributed the most to the growth. In July, construction in Trade and Services has surpassed pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, with substantial growth over the previous 12 months.

Warehouses have also seen considerable growth, with an increase of 42 per cent on an unadjusted basis since March 2021, coinciding with a strong growth in e-commerce and the need for large e-commerce companies to store goods locally for rapid delivery.

Conversely, investment in new office buildings, after a temporary bounce back in June 2020, has been on a downward trend ever since, as the work-from-home model became more prevalent and the number of unoccupied offices across Canada continued to increase.

Investment in the industrial component advanced 2.2 per cent to $1 billion in July, with gains in seven provinces. Ontario accounted for most of the gains for the component in the month, continuing its considerable growth since December 2021.

Institutional construction investment declined 2.3 per cent to $1.4 billion in July, the largest decline for the component since April 2020.