In early May, Statistics Canada published preliminary data on GDP by industry for the ten provinces and three territories. Unlike GDP estimates that are based on expenditures or incomes, these data attempt to capture the value of economic “output” (GDP adjusted for inflation) by industry and include all major industry sectors that make up Canada’s economy. This information allows us to provide a broad-brush summary of the place of construction in the B.C. and Alberta economies. We can also gauge the extent to which the sector has been expanding in size according to the “value-added” generated by construction companies and their employees.
To begin with, it’s worth noting that both provinces posted positive top-line economic growth last year. In B.C., economy-wide output rose by 2% from the level in 2024, beating the expectations of most forecasters (including ICBA). Meanwhile, Alberta racked up a solid 2.7% growth print, the best in the country (apart from tiny PEI). Looking at the period from 2021 to 2025, total GDP in British Columbia increased by 11.1%, while in Alberta it grew by 14.5%.
Last year, construction accounted for a sizable 9.1% of aggregate economic output in British Columbia. This was down from 9.6% in 2021 but still represented one of the highest shares of provincial GDP in the country. In Alberta, construction made up 8.7% of GDP in 2025, up marginally from 2021.
Drilling down into the construction GDP data, Figure 1 summarizes the growth of total construction output in B.C. and Alberta in 2025, as well as what happened in each of the main segments of the sector – residential building, non-residential building, engineering construction, and repair construction.
Figure 1
In B.C., overall construction sector GDP increased by 3% in 2025, vs a 5% increase in Alberta. Looking at residential construction, B.C. reported a tepid 0.7% gain in output last year, while Alberta recorded a hefty 6.7% advance as the demand for housing in the province grew robustly on the back of a surging population.
The picture was different in non-residential building construction: in that sector, B.C. saw a 11.2% increase in GDP last year while Alberta recorded very modest 1.9% growth. The script was flipped between the two provinces in the case of engineering and other “heavy” construction: output in this important slice of the construction industry jumped by 6.2% in Alberta last year, compared to a 2.4% gain in B.C. Finally, the value of output in the “repair” segment of construction – the smallest of the four segments tracked by Statistics Canada – rose by 2.1% in B.C. while flatlining in Alberta.
Figure 2 reports the change in the value of real GDP across the different parts of the construction industry from 2021 to 2025 in the two provinces.
Figure 2
In Alberta, total construction GDP expanded by almost one-fifth from 2021 to 2025, while B.C. saw the sector grow by only 5.2%. Alberta handily led the country in the growth of residential building construction GDP between 2021 and 2025, with an 18.9% gain. In contrast, output in the residential building sector shriveled by 13.4% in next-door B.C. – a poor showing which partly reflects the housing construction boom that the province experienced in 2021 but also speaks to the weakness that has become evident in B.C.’s homebuilding industry over the last year or so.
In the case of non-residential building construction, B.C. enjoyed a 36% increase in output over 2021-25, while Alberta reported growth of just 6.4%. This partly reflects sluggish building construction activity in Alberta’s oil and gas sector during much of the period along with the role of high office vacancy rates in Calgary in dampening new office and commercial construction in the city.
Alberta led the country in the growth of engineering and other heavy construction GDP from 2021 to 2025 (+27.8%), with B.C. putting up a growth rate of 8.3% over the same period. Output attributable to repair construction rose by one quarter in B.C. between 2021 and 2025 but fell slightly in Alberta.
Construction is a significant economic contributor in all parts of Canada. The different segments of the industry have been on varying growth trajectories in B.C. and Alberta. When the population is increasing and the “hosting conditions” for business investment and growth are favourable, construction as an industry tends to do well. When the macroeconomy is struggling and the local business climate is viewed as unattractive, construction typically suffers. In other words, the outlook for construction hinges on how well the broader economy performs. On that count, we confess to being more optimistic about Alberta’s economic prospects than B.C.’s in the next two years.