March 24, 2026
SUMMARY
Total ICI construction investment in Ontario reached $2.97 billion in January 2026. This is slightly lower than both January 2025 and December 2025. Growth came mainly from commercial and institutional projects. Office buildings and warehouses saw strong gains, while factories and some institutional buildings declined. A few smaller regions showed strong growth, while others saw large drops.
ONTARIO ICI CONSTRUCTION INVESTMENT
Total ICI investment in January 2026 was $2.97 billion. This is down 1% from January 2025 and down 0.5% from December 2025.
The commercial sector made up 51.7% of total investment in January 2026. It was the only sector to grow compared to both last month and last year, with a 5.9% increase year over year.
The institutional and industrial sectors both declined compared to January 2025. Institutional investment fell by 6.7%, while industrial investment dropped by 8.3%.
Over the longer term, total ICI investment has been rising over the past 10 years, driven largely by strong growth in the commercial sector alongside steady contributions from institutional and industrial construction.
PERFORMANCE BY TYPE OF BUILDINGS
Office buildings had the highest investment in January 2026, followed by schools and warehouses.
Office investment, at $533.4 million, made up 18% of total ICI spending. It increased by 17.3% from last year and had the largest dollar gain among all building types. About 76% of this investment was in Toronto. This likely reflects growing return-to-office activity.
Warehouse investment increased by 9% year over year, reaching $329.8 million.
Laboratories are a newer category within commercial construction and have been growing over the past two years. Investment in labs rose 66% compared to last year, reaching $7.5 million. While still small, the growth is notable.
In the industrial sector, transportation projects performed well. Investment rose 23.8% year over year and saw one of the largest dollar increases (+$39.7 million). In contrast, factory investment fell sharply by 23.9%
Within the institutional sector, schools received the most funding overall. However, investment in schools declined by 7.5%. Welfare homes showed the strongest growth, increasing by 13.1%.
The weakest building types overall were factories, government buildings, hospitals, and churches.
INVESTMENT TRENDS BY CENSUS METROPOLITAN AREA (CMA)
Barrie had the strongest growth in January 2026. Total ICI investment increased by about 60% compared to last year. Growth came mainly from commercial and institutional projects, especially welfare, recreation, and office buildings.
Belleville and Thunder Bay also saw strong gains, with increases of 46.9% and 32.6%. Brantford grew by 21.9%, while Toronto increased by 5.8%.
Belleville showed growth across all three sectors, led by commercial construction.
In Thunder Bay and Brantford, industrial construction was a key driver. In Brantford, institutional investment also saw strong gains.
In Toronto, growth came mainly from institutional and commercial projects.
Peterborough and Windsor had the weakest performance. Investment fell by 43.1% in Peterborough and 32.8% in Windsor.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Gargi Bharti
Economic and Research Project Lead
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210
gbharti@iciconstruction.com
