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February 18, 2026BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, DECEMBER AND ANNUAL 2025 Monthly (December 2025 vs November 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 0.5% in December 2025 to $576.2 million. Halifax monthly building construction was down 2.4% to $308.0 million while outside of Halifax building construction was up 1.6% to $268.2 million. Nationally, investment in building construction rose 1.9% with gains in five provinces. Saskatchewan reported the fastest gain in building construction investment, while Québec reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's December 2025 residential construction investment declined 0.9% to $442.7 million. Halifax residential construction was down 2.9% to $245.2 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 1.7% to $197.5 million. National residential construction increased by 2.4%, with gains in five provinces. Saskatchewan reported the fastest gain while Québec reported the fastest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 0.8% to $133.5 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction edged down 0.1% to $62.8 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 1.6% to $70.7 million. National non-residential building construction grew 0.6% in December 2025 with increases in five provinces. Alberta and New Brunswick reported the largest gains while Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Annual (2025 vs 2024)
Compared to 2024, building construction investment was up 12.5% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 15.9% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 8.3%. National building construction investment was up 8.5%, with gains in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest growth.
Residential construction investment was up 10.2% in Nova Scotia compared to 2024. Halifax's residential construction was up 18.3% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 0.8%. National residential construction was up 11.2% with gains in eight provinces. Québec and Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gains, while Newfoundland and Labrador experienced the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 21.8% compared to 2024, the fastest gain among provinces. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 7.1% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 43.7%. National non-residential construction investment increased 2.6% compared to 2024, with gains in eight provinces. Québec reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $6,161 million in 2024 to $6,928 million in 2025. Residential investment as well as non-residential investment were up across the province.
Residential investment gains were concentrated in multiple unit dwellings in Halifax, while multiple dwelling building construction was down slightly outside of Halifax. Single dwelling building construction was 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.
In Halifax, all categories of building construction investment increased except commercial investment, with the fastest increases in industrial buildings and multiple dwelling units. Outside of Halifax, building construction investment rose in all categories except for multiple unit dwellings, 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 from late 2024 to
the summer of 2025, when it peaked. Single unit dwelling investments have been on a rising trend in in recent months. Outside of Halifax, single unit dwelling investment rose through the first half of the year and has declined in recent months. In Halifax, multiple dwelling unit buildings are a larger share of investment than single dwelling units in Halifax, while the opposite is true outside of the city.
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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