Summary

The spillover of the economic crisis from the United States and probability of the recession had negative effect on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of Canada. The economy grew at 0.5% in 2008, as compared to above 2.0% growth rates over the previous five years. Mirroring this trend, the construction industry has slowed down in the fiscal year 2008. The total output from the construction industry at the end of the year 2008 amounted to CAD74.7 billion ($70.5 billion), an increase of 2.4% over 2007. Most of the Canadian provinces recorded strong residential construction growth rates until 2006. But then, the exceptionally high housing starts during the period 2002-2006, created a surplus market. This surplus combined with probability of recession weakened the demand for housing market. As such, the construction activity shifted its focus from the residential market to the infrastructure, industrial and engineering sectors. On CAGR basis, the construction industry recorded growth of 4.52% for the period 2003-2008 in Canada. In the residential construction segment, the new housing starts in 2008 at 211,056 which is 7.6% less than that in the previous year, due to low employment and poor consumer sentiment. Consequently, the residential construction market, which accounted for 31.9% of the construction market in 2008, recorded a flat growth rate of 0.6% over the previous year. At the end of 2008, the residential construction industry was valued at CAD23.9 billion (US$22.5 billion). Comparatively, the non-residential construction in Canada has been faring well, owing to the infusion of public spending on the infrastructure projects. In 2008, the non-residential construction segment accounted for 68.1% of the total construction activity with a market value of CAD50.8 billion (US$48.0 billion). This segment recorded a positive growth of 3.2% in 2008 over 2007.

Table of Contents

Canada Construction Market Analysis
Canada Construction Competitive Landscape
Leading Canada Construction Companies
Canada Construction Market Forecast
Appendix