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March 19, 2026BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, JANUARY 2026 Monthly (January 2026 vs December 2025, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 1.0% in January 2026 to $568.5 million. Halifax monthly building construction was down 5.1% to $290.1 million while outside of Halifax building construction was up 3.6% to $278.4 million. Nationally, investment in building construction declined 1.9% with declines in six provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest decline in building construction investment, while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest gain.
Nova Scotia's January 2026 residential construction investment declined 2.0% to $431.5 million. Halifax residential construction was down 6.5% to $227.5 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 3.5% to $204.0 million. National residential construction declined 3.0%, with seven provinces reporting declines. Prince Edward Island reported the fastest decline while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest increase.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction grew 2.2% to $137.0 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction grew 0.3% to $62.6 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 3.8% to $74.3 million. National non-residential building construction grew 0.8% in January 2026 with increases in six provinces. New Brunswick and Alberta reported the largest gains while Manitoba reported the steepest decline.
Year-over-year (January 2026 vs January 2025)
Compared to January 2025, building construction investment was down 1.2% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 16.6% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 22.3%. National building construction investment was up 7.8%, with gains in seven provinces. The fastest growth was reported in Manitoba while Prince Edward Island reported the fastest decline.
Residential construction investment was down 8.4% in Nova Scotia compared to January 2025. Halifax's residential construction was down 20.5% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 10.2%. National residential construction was up 10.3% with gains in six provinces. Manitoba reported the fastest gain, while Prince Edward Island experienced the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 31.2% compared to January 2025, the fastest gain among provinces. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 1.0% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 75.1%. National non-residential construction investment increased 2.4% compared to January 2025, with gains in six provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment decreased from $576 million in January 2025 to $569 million in January 2026. Lower residential investment in Halifax was partially offset by higher residential investment outside of the city, as well as increased non-residential investment across the province.
Residential investment declines were concentrated in multiple unit dwellings in Halifax, with a smaller decline outside of Halifax. Investment in singles was up across the province.
Non-residential building construction investment was up the most for institutional/government projects outside of Halifax. There were smaller gains for commercial investment outside of Halifax, as well as industrial in Halifax.
In Halifax, the year-over-year decline in building construction was led by a decline in multi-unit residential investment, followed by lower institutional/government and commercial investment. Outside of Halifax, gains were led by institutional/government investment, followed by commercial and single dwelling residential units.
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 since summer 2025. Outside of Halifax, single unit dwelling investment rose through the first half of 2025 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. Non-residential investment has been steadily increasing since 2023 due to growth in institutional/government building construction.
Halifax commercial and institutional/government building construction plateaued in 2025 and have 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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