Canadian Industrial Outlook: Non-Residential Construction—Winter 2018

U.S. Trade Uncertainties—With Canadian trade on uncertain footing, Canada risks losing business investment opportunities to the United States. This, in turn, drives down growth prospects for non-residential building construction, an industry that relies heavily on business investment to fuel the construction of commercial and industrial structures.

Shifts in Retail Shopping—E-commerce, varied delivery options, and the rising use of augmented reality technologies are contributing to a drop in demand for physical retail space. This provides the industry with new opportunities to redevelop empty shopping centres into office space, offering an attractive investment option in tight markets. Increased online orders will help boost demand for more warehouse structures.

Social Infrastructure Spending—The government’s plan to spend $25.3 billion on social infrastructure over 12 years includes projects to build cultural and recreational centres, ensuring stronger demand for institutional structures over the medium to long term.