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April 23, 2019INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, FEBRUARY 2019 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 2.4 per cent in February (seasonally adjusted) compared to January 2019. Halifax monthly building construction rose 9.5 per cent. Nationally, investment in building construction rose 3.8 per cent in February. Saskatchewan reported the strongest monthly gains (+12.4 per cent) while New Brunswick (-8.3 per cent) reported the only monthly decline.
Year-to-date (Jan-Feb19 vs Jan-Feb18, seasonally adjusted), building construction investment was up 40.5 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 36.0 per cent. National building construction investment rose 6.5 per cent with six provinces reporting growth. The fastest growth was reported in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (+29.5 per cent) while the largest declines were reported in Alberta (-9.0 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (-7.8 per cent).
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment reached $349 million in February. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province, particularly for residential and commercial investment. Halifax building construction totaled $210 million in February, while there was $139 million in building construction outside the city.
Residential construction
In February 2019, residential construction was up 3.5 per cent in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted) compared to January, reaching a level of $298 million. Halifax residential construction was up 12.3 per cent to $184 million.
National residential construction rose 5.4 per cent month-to-month. All provinces except New Brunswick (-12.3 per cent) reported monthly growth in residential construction investment. Saskatchewan (+17.5 per cent), Ontario (+5.9 per cent) and Quebec (+5.9 per cent) reported the fastest monthly growth.
Year-to-date (Jan-Feb19 vs Jan-Feb18, seasonally adjusted) residential construction investment was up 52.1 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 51.5 per cent.
National residential construction was up 11.7 per cent. Among the provinces, Nova Scotia reported the fastest year-over-year growth, followed by Saskatchewan (+39.1 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+31.1 per cent). Three provinces reported declines: Newfoundland and Labrador (-25.5 per cent), Manitoba (-11.7 per cent) and Alberta (-9.3 per cent).
Investment in renovations accounts for the rise in residential construction activity observed from Jan-Feb18 to Jan-Feb19 (unadjusted). New construction is down for single dwelling units and up for multiples. Other residential construction activity (such as conversions) is up significantly in percentage terms, but this contributes a small amount to the overall rise in residential building expenditures.
Non-residential construction
Non-residential building construction declined by 3.8 per cent in Nova Scotia in February (seasonally adjusted) compared to January, falling to $51 million. Non-residential construction was down 6.7 per cent in Halifax in February to $26 million.
National non-residential building construction was little changed last month. Four provinces reported monthly gains, with the fastest growth reported in Prince Edward Island (+4.0 per cent) and Quebec (+1.9 per cent). Nova Scotia and Manitoba (-2.9 per cent) reported the largest monthly declines.
Year-to-date (Jan-Feb19 vs Jan-Feb18, seasonally adjusted), Nova Scotia's non-residential construction is down by 2.0 per cent compared. Halifax's non-residential construction declined 18.4 per cent year-to-date.
National non-residential construction investment declined 4.3 per cent. The fastest growth was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (+42.1 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+24.3 per cent). The fastest declines were reported in New Brunswick (-19.9 per cent) and Ontario (-15.9 per cent).
Year-to-date (Jan-Feb19 vs Jan-Feb18, unadjusted) non-residential building construction declines are concentrated in both commercial and institutional/government projects in Halifax. Non-residential construction is up outside the city on gains in industrial, commercial and institutional/government expenditures.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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