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January 21, 2026BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, NOVEMBER 2025 Monthly (November 2025 vs October 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction edged down 0.04% in November 2025 to $583.2 million. Halifax monthly building construction was down 7.9% to $316.6 million while outside of Halifax building construction was up 11.3% to $266.6 million. Nationally, investment in building construction rose 9.7% with gains in seven provinces. Ontario reported the fastest gain in building construction investment, while Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's November 2025 residential construction investment declined 0.6% to $450.5 million. Halifax residential construction was down 9.4% to $253.7 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 13.7% to $196.8 million. National residential construction increased by 13.3%, with gains in seven provinces. Ontario reported the fastest gain while Prince Edward Island reported the fastest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 1.9% to $132.7 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was down 1.3% to $62.9 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 4.9% to $69.8 million. National non-residential building construction grew 1.4% in November 2025 with increases in all provinces. Newfoundland and labrador reported the largest gain while Québec and Ontario reported the slowest.
Year-to-date (January-November 2025 vs January-November 2024)
Compared to January-November 2024, building construction investment was up 13.1% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 17.4% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 7.8%. National building construction investment was up 8.7%, with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest growth.
Residential construction investment was up 11.0% in Nova Scotia compared to January-November 2024. Halifax's residential construction was up 20.0% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 0.7%. National residential construction was up 11.5% with gains in eight provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain, while Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 21.5% compared to January-November 2024, the fastest gain among provinces. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 8.1% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 41.5%. National non-residential construction investment increased 2.7% compared to January-November 2024, with gains in eight provinces. Québec reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $5,627 million in January-November 2024 to $6,362 million in January-November 2025. Residential investment as well as non-residential investment were up across the province.
Single dwelling building construction as well as multiple dwelling building construction investment were up across the province.
Non-residential building construction investment was up in all categories except commercial projects in Halifax. The largest increase was in institutional and government building construction investment outside of Halifax.
All categories of building construction investment increased in Halifax except commercial investment, with the fastest increases in industrial buildings and multiple dwelling units. Outside of Halifax, building construction investment rose in all categories, with the fastest growth in institutional/government investment followed by commercial investment.
Trends
Building construction has trended up over recent years, particularly from rising residential investment. Residential investment (and therefore total investment) exhibits peaks and troughs around a rising trend. Non-residential investment has been on a more gradual increasing trend.
In Halifax, residential construction investment had trended up for multi-unit dwellings since late 2024 and a declining trend in recent months. Single unit dwelling investments have been on a rising trend in in recent months. Outside the city, investment in single dwelling unit construction is typically higher than for multi-unit structures. In Halifax, multiple dwelling unit buildings are a larger share of investment than single dwelling units.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction.
Halifax commercial and institutional/government building construction have plateaued and declined in recent months, while industrial projects continue to grow. Outside the city, non-residential investment levels continue to grow on rising institutional/government and commercial building investments.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0293-01 Investment in Building Construction
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