René Muschter
Research Expert covering Industry & Mobility
Construction industry in Canada - statistics & facts
The construction industry plays a significant role in the economy of Canada. For instance, the development of new houses and commercial buildings is essential to satisfy the demand of a still growing urban population. But non-building construction should not be overseen either, as it is vital to maintaining a thriving economy. In both segments of the construction sector, there have been important projects developed in the past years. Additionally, as of August 2025, there were several skyscrapers under construction in Canada, including three with an expected height of over 300 meters.
The severity of some of the challenges that the construction industry in Canada has been facing in the past years, such as labor shortages and high construction costs, has declined, presenting a positive outlook if construction spending maintains.
Labor shortage in Canada declines
Employment in construction has grown significantly in the past years with the overall expansion of the industry during that period, from 970,000 people working in that industry in 2015 to 1.24 million in 2024. Still, the lack of available skilled workers has been a concern in the past years. However, that problem has ameliorated, with the number of job vacancies in construction in mid-2025 being significantly lower than in 2022 or 2023. At its peak, in April 2022, the number of vacancies amounted to 8.3 percent of all occupied and vacant jobs, while that share had fallen to 3.4 percent in May 2025. Nevertheless, there have been significant discrepancies between different roles, with blue-collar roles being the most affected.The construction sector in the Canadian provinces
Regional differences are also apparent in the construction industry. Employment conditions also vary a lot, with differences of up to 600 Canadian dollars in the weekly earnings of construction workers between provinces. Some of the territories with smaller populations, such as the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon, were well above the average. Meanwhile, along with salary, the prices of land, construction materials, and equipment are also subject to strong variation. There are, however, other additional factors that also make up the final costs of constructing a building, which is an important component of its final price in the real estate market. Given that the costs of those elements differ among territories, not all cities have seen similar construction costs increases in the past years. Toronto has consistently had high growth rates of construction prices, which were significantly higher than in Winnipeg or Montreal.The severity of some of the challenges that the construction industry in Canada has been facing in the past years, such as labor shortages and high construction costs, has declined, presenting a positive outlook if construction spending maintains.
