Investment in non-residential building construction in British Columbia dipped by 3.2% to $1.42 billion in 2013’s third quarter, according to Statistics Canada data released October 17.
Industrial building construction in B.C. dropped by 5.3% when compared with the second quarter, to $190 million. Commercial investment dipped by 2.1% to $866 million and institutional investment dropped 2.2% to $364 million.
Across the country, construction of non-residential buildings grew by 4.4% to $13.0 billion, after dropping 3.4% in the second quarter. The growth this quarter was driven in large part by the end of a construction strike in Quebec, which had been a major cause of the dip in Q2.
Year-over-year, B.C.’s non-residential building construction grew by 3.2%. Industrial and commercial construction increased by 20.1% and 2.9%, respectively, while institutional construction dropped by 3.2%.
Construction in Vancouver dropped 2.2% in Q3 to $872 million. This is an increase of 9.7% compared with 2012’s second quarter.
Over the past quarter, other cities saw changes of:
- Montreal (up 22.3%);
- Edmonton (down 7.3%);
- Calgary (up 5.8%); and
- Toronto (down 2.9%).
