Construction investment up in March on P.E.I. despite pandemic

P.E.I. ran against the general trend in Canada, and contrary to the expectations of the COVID-19 pandemic economy, to post strong numbers in the construction sector in March.

P.E.I. had the biggest increase in construction investment in the country, up 9.9 per cent in March. It was the only province to post an increase in non-residential construction investment, up 1.4 per cent.

Nationally, investment was down 3.6 per cent.

Construction has been on a steep growth curve on P.E.I. for several years. Sam Sanderson, general manager of the Construction Association of P.E.I., said the pandemic has not slowed it down significantly.

"We're not foreseeing any kind of a downturn in April," said Sanderson.

"Our members are still crazy busy. There's still a shortage of skilled people, We've got many members looking for many people right now and have been all throughout COVID-19 to date. So it's looking very promising."

The first quarter of 2020 was up 22.1 per cent over the same period in 2019. Growth in investments in single-family homes and industrial buildings was particularly strong.

Investment in apartment buildings was down. Sanderson said he expects those numbers to go up again, as there have been several recent announcements of new apartment buildings in both Charlottetown and Summerside.

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