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July 20, 2026BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MAY 2026 Monthly (May vs April 2026, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 0.1% in May 2026 to $552.7 million. Halifax monthly building construction was up 6.3% to $279.8 million while outside of Halifax building construction was down 5.6% to $272.9 million. Nationally, investment in building construction declined 0.3% with declines in four provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest decline in building construction investment, while Prince Edward Island reported the fastest gain.
Nova Scotia's May 2026 residential construction investment increased 0.6% to $418.6 million. Halifax residential construction grew 8.8% to $217.0 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was down 7.0% to $201.6 million. National residential construction declined 0.5%, with four provinces reporting declines. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the fastest decline while Prince Edward Island reported the fastest increase.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction fell 1.6% to $134.0 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction declined 1.5% to $62.8 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 1.6% to $71.2 million. National non-residential building construction grew 0.2% in May 2026 with gains in five provinces. Alberta reported the largest gain while Nova Scotia reported the steepest decline.
Year-to-date (January-May 2026 vs January-May 2025)
Compared to January-May 2025, building construction investment was up 0.6% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 12.1% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 17.7%. National building construction investment was up 5.5%, 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 4.5% in Nova Scotia compared to January-May 2025. Halifax's residential construction was down 14.7% and outside of Halifax residential construction was up 9.3%. National residential construction was up 6.3% with gains in six provinces. Manitoba reported the fastest gains, while Prince Edward Island experienced the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 20.1% compared to first five months of 2025, the second fastest gain among provinces, just behind Alberta. Halifax's non-residential construction fell 2.0% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 49.1%. National non-residential construction investment increased 3.9% compared to first five months of 2025, with gains in seven provinces. Prince Edward Island reported the steepest decline.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $2,773 million in January-May 2025 to $2,789 million in January-May 2026. Lower residential investment in Halifax was partially offset by higher residential investment outside of Halifax. Nova Scotia's non-residential investment increased, resulting from gains outside of Halifax.
Residential investment declines were concentrated in multiple unit dwellings in Halifax, with a slight increase outside of Halifax. Investment in singles was up across the province.
Non-residential building construction investment was up most for institutional and government projects outside of Halifax. There were smaller gains for commercial investment across the province, as well as industrial. Nova Scotia's total non-residential growth is driven by gains in non-residential outside of Halifax.
In Halifax, the year-to-date decline in building construction was led by a decline in multi-unit residential investment, followed by lower institutional and government investment. Outside of Halifax, gains were led by institutional and government 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 although this has declined over the last year driven by declines in Halifax residential investment. Non-residential investment has been on a more gradual increasing trend.
In Halifax, multiple dwelling unit buildings are a larger share of investment than single dwelling units, while the opposite is true outside of the city. In Halifax, residential construction investment had trended up for multi-unit dwellings from late 2024 to the summer of 2025, when it peaked, with recent dips. Single unit dwelling investments in Halifax grew through 2025 but have since peaked. Outside of Halifax, single unit dwelling investment declined through the second half of 2025 and started rising again in recent months.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction. Non-residential investment has been steadily increasing since 2023 due to growth in institutional and government building construction.
Halifax institutional and government building construction plateaued in 2025 and have declined in recent months. Halifax's non-residential commercial construction showed a similar pattern but with recent increases. Its industrial projects continue to grow. Outside the city, non-residential investment levels continue to grow on rising institutional and government and commercial building investments.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0293-01 Investment in Building Construction
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