May 29, 2025
SUMMARY
Total ICI building construction investment increased 17% y/y in Q1, with the largest gain coming from the institutional sector. According to structure type, medical and hospitals, transportation and utilities, and schools and education remained at the top (when measuring percentage change).
Q1 BUILDING INVESTMENT
Investment in Q1 2025 was up in all sectors compared to year ago levels. Industrial investment was up 11%, commercial investment was up 14%, and institutional investment was up a larger 28% y/y.
Looking at building types, medical and hospitals saw the largest y/y gain between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025. Windsor once again came in with a staggering increase from $1.1M to $10.4M, as the Windsor Acute Care Hospital moves onto the next stage of construction. Expansions to hospitals in Thunder Bay and Barrie also drove big percentage increases in building investment. The transportation and utilities sector came in second place yet again, with most significant tailwinds coming from Oshawa ($2.7M to 12M), London ($11.1 to $39.2M), and Ottawa ($3.4M to $8.8M). Work on the final phase of the Ottawa LRT, and infrastructure work for bus transit in London and Oshawa continue to amplify building investment expenditures. Lastly, schools and education continued to boast massively elevated building investment activity in Brantford ($0.6M to $21.4M), owing to continued progress on several new elementary schools. Similarly, Oshawa ($6.3M to $38.8M) also saw a significant boost to its Q1 y/y figures, as progress continues on a plethora of new schools announced in the region. KW-Cambridge ($30.7 to $174.2M) also sustained increased levels of investment due to work on university and college campus expansions.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ali Ahmad
Research Analyst
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 222
aahmad@iciconstruction.com
