Alberta had one of the highest increases in investment in non-residential building construction in the third quarter of this year.

Statistics Canada reported Monday that investment values in Alberta increased as a result of higher spending on industrial (+$31.4 million) and commercial (+$16.0 million) building construction.

In total, investment in non-residential building reached $2.4 billion in the quarter, up 1.5 per cent from the previous quarter. The Calgary census metropolitan area saw investment rise by 4.8 per cent from the previous quarter to $954 million while the Edmonton census metropolitan area saw a drop of 2.5 per cent to $778 million.

The federal agency said that in Alberta spending on construction of utility buildings (+$13.8 million) and manufacturing plants (+$13.7 million) led the growth in the industrial component. In the commercial component, spending on warehouse and storage building construction (+$45.3 million) was partially offset by declines in the construction of theatre and recreational buildings (-$18.0 million). The Calgary CMA saw the largest quarterly increase (+$43.8 million), with growth in all three components, it said.

Provincially, the industrial sector was up 12.4 per cent to $285 million while the commercial sector rose by 1.2 per cent to $1.4 billion. The institutional sector dropped by 1.7 per cent.

On an annual basis, investment fell by 3.4 per cent across the province. Industrial rose by 21.4 per cent and institutional was up by 0.6 per cent. But commercial was down by 9.2 per cent.

The Calgary CMA rose by 7.9 per cent while the Edmonton CMA was off by 10.9 per cent year-over-year.

Nationally, investment in non-residential building construction rose 0.9 per cent.

Quarterly investment was up in seven provinces, led by Quebec (+$66.4 million) and British Columbia (+$66.0 million), and followed by Alberta (+$34.9 million), said the federal agency.

The industrial sector across Canada rose by 3.3 per cent to $2.3 billion, the commercial sector was up by 1.7 per cent to $8.2 billion and the institutional sector decreased by 2.2 per cent to $3.8 billion.

On a year-over-year basis, overall investment was up by 5.6 per cent. That included hikes of 17 per cent for industrial, 4.9 per cent for commercial and 0.9 per cent for institutional.

Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald, including 12 years as a senior business writer.

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