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January 21, 2020BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, NOVEMBER 2019 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction declined 0.2 per cent in November (seasonally adjusted) compared to October 2019. Halifax monthly building construction was up 4.7 per cent in November.
Nationally, investment in building construction rose 0.1 per cent in November. Saskatchewan reported the strongest monthly gain while New Brunswick reported the largest monthly decline.
In the first eleven months of 2019, building construction investment was up 9.8 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was up 7.9 per cent. National building construction investment was up 2.7 per cent with six provinces reporting growth over January-November 2018. The fastest growth was reported in Prince Edward Island (+48.3 per cent) followed by British Columbia (+10.9 per cent) and Quebec (+10.2 per cent). The largest declines over this period were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador (-14.5 per cent) and Alberta (-12.0 per cent).
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment was $276.0 million in November. In recent years, Halifax has accounted for a rising share of construction activity in the province, particularly for residential investment. Halifax building construction totaled $165.9 million in November, while there was $110.0 million in building construction outside of Halifax.
Residential construction
In November 2019, residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted) in Nova Scotia declined 0.9 per cent to $219.2 million. Halifax residential construction rose 4.8 per cent to $137.8 million.
National residential construction was down 0.2 per cent month-to-month as five provinces reported lower residential construction investment in November. The fastest gain was in Saskatchewan, while the largest decline was in New Brunswick.
Year-to-date, residential construction investment was up 12.4 per cent in Nova Scotia. Halifax's residential construction was up 13.3 per cent compared to January-November 2018.
National residential construction was up 1.3 per cent compared to the first eleven months of 2018. Six provinces reported growth for the period, with Prince Edward Island (+54.3 per cent) and Nova Scotia reporting the fastest growth. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest decline over the same period in 2019 (-29.8 per cent).
Investment in renovations outside of Halifax and new construction for multiples in Halifax account for most of the rise in residential construction activity (unadjusted) in the first eleven months of 2019 in Nova Scotia. New construction is up 9.5 per cent year-to-date for single dwelling units. Other residential construction activity (such as conversions) is up in percentage terms, but has contributed less than other residential activities to the overall rise in residential building expenditures so far this year.
Non-residential construction
In November, non-residential building construction rose 2.5 per cent to $56.8 million in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted change from October). In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 4.1 per cent to $28.1 million.
National non-residential building construction rose 0.8 per cent in November. Six provinces reported monthly gains, with the fastest growth reported in Manitoba (+5.9 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (+5.5 percent). Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest monthly decline (-5.9 per cent).
Year-to-date, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction is down 0.4 per cent compared to the first eleven months of 2018. Halifax's non-residential construction is down 14.3 per cent year-to-date.
National non-residential construction investment rose 5.9 per cent in the first eleven months of the year. The fastest growth was reported in British Columbia (+32.5 per cent), Prince Edward Island (+29.2 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+18.5 per cent). The fastest decline was reported in Ontario (-4.1 per cent).
In Nova Scotia, year-to-date non-residential building construction declines are concentrated in both commercial and institutional/government projects in Halifax. Non-residential construction is up outside of Halifax on gains in commercial and institutional/government expenditures.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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