Released: 2026-09-21
Total investment in building construction
$23.6 billion
July 2026
1.2% 
(monthly change)
The total value of investment in building construction increased $270.9 million (+1.2%) to $23.6 billion in July. The non-residential sector rose 3.2%, while the residential sector edged up 0.3%. Year over year, investment in building construction grew 8.1% in July.
On a constant dollar basis (2023=100), the total value of investment in building construction reached $21.2 billion in July, increasing 1.0% from the previous month and 4.7% from one year earlier.
Chart 1 
Investment in building construction, seasonally adjusted
Institutional component leads non-residential growth
In July, the value of non-residential investment in building construction increased $226.9 million to $7.4 billion. This growth was driven by the institutional component (+7.4%), followed by the industrial (+2.8%) and commercial (+0.8%) components.
Investment in institutional construction was up $159.3 million to $2.3 billion in July. Ontario (+$151.0 million) drove the increase, driven by new hospital construction, which was underlined in the June 2026 building permits release. In July, gains in Ontario and three other provinces were partially offset by declines in six provinces and three territories, led by Alberta (-$8.9 million).
Investment in industrial construction rose $40.6 million to $1.5 billion in July. Saskatchewan (+$20.3 million) and British Columbia (+$12.5 million) led the increase and were supported by broad gains across four other provinces and two territories.
Meanwhile, investment in commercial construction edged up $27.0 million to $3.5 billion in July. Increases in six provinces and one territory (+$42.6 million) were tempered by a decline in British Columbia (-$14.6 million).
Infographic 1
Investment in residential building construction, July 2026
Chart 2
Investment in residential building construction, seasonally adjusted
Multi-unit construction dampens the growth in the residential sector
In July, investment in residential building construction edged up $44.0 million to $16.2 billion. Growth in the single-family component (+3.5%) was moderated by a decline in the multi-unit component (-2.6%).
Investment in single-family construction was up $265.2 million to $7.8 billion in July. Increases were widespread across all provinces, led by Ontario (+$93.5 million) and Alberta (+$68.6 million).
Meanwhile, multi-unit construction decreased $221.2 million to $8.4 billion in July. The decline was primarily attributed to British Columbia (-$76.7 million), Quebec (-$70.9 million) and Ontario (-$43.9 million).
Infographic 2
Investment in non-residential building construction, July 2026
For more information on construction, please visit the Construction statistics portal.
For more information on housing, please visit the Housing statistics portal.
Note to readers
This content was created with the assistance of a generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool and refined and verified by Statistics Canada experts. To learn more about how the agency uses AI responsibly, please visit the Trust Centre.
Table 34-10-0286 has been archived on the Statistics Canada website and will no longer be updated but may still be viewed. The successor table is 34-10-0293, and the information from January 2017 onwards that was in table 34-10-0286 is still available in the new table, except for the constant dollar series, which has been rebased to 2023=100. Constant dollar data for January and February 2017 represent an average between the old base year (2012=100) and the new base year (2023=100) and should be used with caution. The 2017 data series will be backcasted and the figures will be revised with the release of our annual revision.
Data are subject to revisions based on late responses, delayed construction start dates for large projects, methodological changes, classification updates, price index updates for constant dollar series, benchmarking and adjustments to ad hoc macroeconomic events. Unadjusted data have been revised back to 2021. Seasonally adjusted data have been revised back to 2018.
Data presented in this release are seasonally adjusted with current dollar values unless otherwise stated. Using seasonally adjusted data allows month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For information on seasonal adjustment, see the page Seasonal adjustment: Concepts and interpretation, 2026.
Monthly estimates for constant dollars are calculated using quarterly deflators from the Building Construction Price Index (18-10-0289-01). The monthly indexes used for the deflation process were part of a methodology review to increase the quality of the constant dollar and seasonally adjusted series. The indexes previously displayed a step pattern because of less frequent collection.
Detailed data on investment activity by type of building and type of work are now available in the unadjusted current dollar series.
The trade and services subcomponent includes buildings such as retail and wholesale outlets, retail complexes and motor vehicle show rooms. More detailed information can be found on the Integrated Metadatabase at Types of Building Structure – 2.2.1 – Trade and services.
Next release
Data on investment in building construction for August will be released on October 21.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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