The Economics and Statistics Division maintains archives of previous publications for accountability purposes, but makes no updates to keep these documents current with the latest data revisions from Statistics Canada. As a result, information in older documents may not be accurate. Please exercise caution when referring to older documents. For the latest information and historical data, please contact the individual listed to the right.
<--- Return to Archive
For additional information relating to this article, please contact:
November 28, 2025NON-RESIDENTIAL CAPITAL STOCK AND INVESTMENT, Q3 2025 Note that with the release of the Provincial Economic Accounts on November 6, data from 2022 to 2024 have been revised.
Year-over-year (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)
Nova Scotia non-residential investment (all sectors, all assets, current prices) rose by 7.4% from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025, leading all provinces in investment growth following revised growth of 4.3% in the previous quarter. Nationally non-residential investment was up 4.2% with gains in all provinces. The slowest growth in investment was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's non-residential investment growth outperformed the national average for buildings, machinery/equipment and intellectual property while it slightly lagged the national average on engineering construction. Government sector capital investment in Nova Scotia was up 13.2% - the second fastest year-over-year growth among provinces. Nova Scotia's business sector investment grew by 2.1% while national business sector investment was up 2.7% year-over-year in Q3.
On a per capita basis, Nova Scotia's investment in non-residential assets amounted to $2,097 or 67.2% of the national per capita value. Nova Scotia's per capita investments were notably stronger than the national average for the government sector due to strength in government machinery and equipment. On average, investment per capita in all asset categories were lower than the national average.
Nova Scotia's per capita business investment was $1,028 per capita or 45.7% of the national per capita average. Business investment (notably for engineering construction) was substantially higher in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as in the three westernmost provinces.
Nova Scotia's net capital stock (based on geometric depreciation) was $57,234 per capita as of Q3 2025. This was 65.1% of the national per capita capital stock. Capital stock per capita was notably higher for Canada's major natural resource regions: Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Nova Scotia's $25,812 capital stock per capita in the government sector (including military hardware) was substantially higher than the national average of $22,928 per capita.
Nova Scotia's business sector capital stock was $31,202 per capita - second lowest among provinces and 48.3% of the national average of $64,547 per capita.
In the last year, Nova Scotia's investment levels increased for all major asset categories and sectors.
Net capital stock in Nova Scotia increased for all major asset types and for all three sectors. Government capital stock, machinery/equipment and non-residential buildings stock reported the fastest increases. The non-profit sector also reported a notable increase, but this is a very small share of Nova Scotia's capital stock.
Year-to-date (Q1-Q3 2025 vs Q1-Q3 2025)
Comparing the first three quarters of 2025 with the same period in 2024, Nova Scotia's non-residential capital investment was up 5.4% - the second strongest growth among provinces. National investment levels were up 4.6% year-to-date with the strongest growth in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia's year-to-date non-residential investment growth outpaced the national averages for all asset categories, led by buildings and engineering construction.
Nova Scotia's year-to-date business investment was up 3.4% - lagging the national average gain of 3.8%.
Nova Scotia's investment in government sector assets was up 7.6%, outpacing national government sector investment growth of 7.1%.
On a per capita basis, Nova Scotia's year-to-date non-residential investments were $5,882 or 66.6% of the national average. Although Nova Scotia had the highest per capita non-residential investments from the government sector ($2,737), it had the lowest levels of per capita non-residential investment from the business sector ($3,056).
Nova Scotia's year-to-date investments in machinery/equipment (including military hardware in the government sector) were $2,000 per capita, just below the national average of $2,190. Per capita investments in non-residential buildings ($1,324, third lowest among provinces), engineering construction ($1,294, second lowest among provinces) and intellectual property ($1,204. third lowest among provinces) were all well below national averages.
Nova Scotia's year-to-date non-residential investment reflects growth in all asset categories and sectors, led by government and non-residential buildings (in percentage terms).
Trends
Nova Scotia's non-residential investment has generally trended up on a year-over-year basis (except 2020).
Business sector non-residential investment trended downward over 2016 to 2020, before trending upwards over 2021-2023. However, business sector investment has exhibited slower growth in 2024 and 2025.
Government sector was mostly flat from 2014 through 2017, then trended upwards from 2017 to 2023, followed by a notable acceleration in the second half of 2024. Results for government investment in Q3 2025 put government investment at its highest level to date in a single quarter.
Non-profit institution serving households have much lower investments levels than business or government sectors. Investment levels have been relatively stable in the most recent two years.
Nova Scotia's investments in non-residential buildings declined from 2013 to 2017 and rose in 2018 and 2019. After a dip in 2020, Nova Scotia's investment in non-residential buildings recovered to its rising trend from 2021-2025.
Nova Scotia's investments in engineering construction assets trended up from 2018 to 2022, after which investment has grown at a slower pace.
Nova Scotia's investments in machinery and equipment assets have been rising since 2022. Note that due to revisions in the Provincial Economic Accounts, machinery and equipment investment growth is slower than was previously reported for 2024 and 2025.
Nova Scotia's investments in intellectual property products have mostly trended up since 2013 with occasional spikes coinciding with specific offshore exploration projects (which are classified as intellectual property investments).
Nova Scotia's non-residential capital stock per capita has grown more quickly since 2020.
However, national non-residential capital stock per capita has grown more quickly. This is particularly the case for business sector non-residential assets per capita as well as for buildings, engineering construction and intellectual property.
In contrast, Nova Scotia's per capita stocks of government sector assets as well as machinery/equipment assets have grown faster than the national pace and are now higher than national averages.
Notes: Non-residential fixed capital investment consists of expenditures made by business, governments and non-profit institutions serving households that add to the capital stock for production of goods and services in an economy. Investment that are included are buildings, engineering construction (i.e. bridge, mine structure), machinery and equipment, and intellectual property products (i.e. software, mineral exploration) but it doesn’t include non-reproducible assets (lands, mineral deposits, natural resources) or housing investment. The data are not seasonally adjusted and expressed in current prices.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0163-01 Flows and stocks of fixed non-residential and residential capital, by sector and asset, provincial and territorial (x 1,000,000)
<--- Return to Archive
