November 18, 2009

By the numbers

B.C., Alberta lead decline in non-residential construction

Non-residential construction in Canada declined for the third consecutive quarter this year, driven by large declines in both Alberta and B.C.

Statistics Canada reported recently that investment in non-residential building construction in Canada fell by 3.9 per cent to $10.4 billion in the third quarter from the second quarter.

It is attributed largely to lower spending on commercial and industrial building construction.

Commercial construction declined by 13.2 per cent in Alberta, 6.5 per cent in Ontario and 10.8 per cent in B.C. These drops were the result of lower spending for office buildings, shopping centres and warehouses. In B.C., investment in non-residential construction fell by 6.3 per cent in the third quarter to $1.2 billion.

Non-residential investment spending in the Vancouver fell by 11.8 per cent to $670 million in the third quarter of 2009. This was the lowest total spending since the fourth quarter of 2005. In Alberta, investment in non residential building construction dropped by eight per cent from the second quarter to the third quarter to $2.3 billion.

JOC News Service

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