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Non-Residential Investments First Quarter 2013

In the first quarter, the total amount of non-residential real estate investments rose to $12.4-billion, continuing the upward trend as the fifth consecutive quarter. In saying this, only four provinces saw significant increases during this time: Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba. Unfortunately, Ontario was not a part of this list, as institutional investments were down considerably. Of the 34 Census Metropolitan Areas, only 13 reported an increased investment in non-residential construction — Montreal, Hamilton, and Vancouver being the three highest in rank.

cg130418b001-eng

The factors considered by Statistics Canada in these reports are as follows:

  • Commercial Component: up in seven provinces by 1.2%, growing to $7.5-billion in the first quarter. Ontario and Quebec saw the highest gains, but investments were down for Saskatchewan by 7%
  • Industrial Component: investments rose by 2.5%, totalling $1.7-billion in the first quarter. Again, Ontario and Quebec were leaders for growth, along with British Columbia. Although these provinces each grew substantially, shortcomings in Newfoundland and Labrador were too high to offset (24%).
  • Institutional Component: for the ninth consecutive quarter, institutional investments declined. Ontario had the largest decline of 7.1% in the first quarter. Luckily, investments in Alberta rose to $328-million, just as investments in Quebec shot to $653-million.

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For a report on residential property values, please refer back to an older post titled “First Quarter 2013 – Property Values on the Rise,” in which rising values and falling transaction counts in Canada are discussed.

Canada’s New Building Plan

Looking forward, the Government of Canada’s New Building Plan will contribute $53-billion to the development of economic and regional infrastructure in 2014/15.  This plan looks toward the following three areas for funding:

  1. The Community Improvement Fund – $32-billion for building roads, improving transit, recreational facilities, and community infrastructure.
  2. New Building Canada Fund – $14-billion in support of national, regional, and local economic infrastructure projects.
  3. Renewed p3 Canada Fund – $1.25-billion to develop innovative ways to ensure faster construction times.

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Thank you to Statistics Canada and the Canadian government for the charts.

 

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