August 20, 2008

Calgary sees fastest rise in non-residential construction costs

Ottawa

Calgary had the largest increase in the cost of non-residential building construction of six major Canadian cities in the second quarter of 2008, according to a report released by Statistics Canada.

The composite price index for non-residential building construction in Calgary increased by 8.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2008, compared with the previous quarter.

It was the highest quarterly change in new construction costs recorded by Statistics Canada in six census metropolitan areas: Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and the Ontario part of Ottawa-Gatineau.

The second-highest quarterly change was recorded by Edmonton (6.5 per cent), followed by Toronto (5.8 per cent), Vancouver and Ottawa (both 4.9 per cent), Halifax (3.2 per cent) and Montreal (2.4 per cent).

The composite price index for non-residential building construction in Canada increased by 6.0 per cent in the second quarter to 175.6 (1997=100), compared with the previous quarter.

Calgary also had the largest increase (16.1 per cent) from the second quarter of 2007, followed by Edmonton (15.4 per cent), Vancouver (11.2 per cent), Toronto (10.3 per cent), Ottawa (8.9 per cent), Montreal (6.1 per cent) and Halifax (5.8 per cent).

– DCN Staff

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