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May 17, 2022BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MARCH 2022 Total residential and non-residential construction
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 0.8% in March 2022 (seasonally adjusted) compared to February 2022. Halifax monthly building construction decreased 5.7% in March 2022 and outside of Halifax building construction increased 8.4%.
Nationally, investment in building construction increased 1.8% in March 2022. Monthly building construction was up in eight provinces with Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan posting the largest gains. The declines were reported in New Brunswick and Manitoba.
Compared to January-March 2021, building construction investment was up 39.0% in Nova Scotia. Outside of Halifax construction activity was up 47.8% and Halifax construction activity was up 32.2%. National building construction investment was up 12.0% with eight provinces reporting increases and Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan reporting declines. The largest increases from January-March 2021 to January-March 2022 were reported in Nova Scotia and Manitoba.
Total Nova Scotia building construction investment was $506.8 million in March 2022. Halifax building construction totaled $256.6 million in March 2022 and outside of Halifax building construction was $250.2 million. There had been a notable acceleration in building construction investment since the end of 2020, particularly residential construction investment in Halifax. In spring 2021 building construction declined in Halifax while it increased outside of Halifax. Since the fall of 2021, Nova Scotia building construction had been increasing, largely because of rising residential construction in Halifax. In recent months Halifax non-residential construction is increasing while residential construction is decreasing.
Residential construction
In March 2022, residential construction investment (seasonally adjusted) in Nova Scotia increased 0.5% to $439.0 million. Halifax residential construction was down 7.5% to $216.7 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 9.9% to $222.3 million.
National residential construction increased 1.7% month-over-month as eight provinces reported higher residential construction investment. The largest increase was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador followed by Saskatchewan. New Brunswick and Manitoba were the only provinces to report a decline, month over month.
In January-March 2022, residential construction investment was up 40.5% in Nova Scotia compared to January-March 2021. Halifax's residential construction was up 28.2%. Outside of Halifax, residential construction was up 57.6%, year-to-date.
National residential construction was up 11.8%. Eight provinces reported higher residential construction investment over January-March 2021. The largest increases were reported in Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Newfoundland and Labrador and Saskatchewan reported declines.
Higher renovations was the largest factor in the year-to-date increase. In January-March 2022, new construction was up both for singles and multiple dwelling units across the province compared to January-March 2021.
Non-residential construction
In March 2022, non-residential building construction increased 2.3% to $67.8 million in Nova Scotia (seasonally adjusted). In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 5.7% to $39.9 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 2.2% to $27.9 million.
National non-residential building construction was up 2.0% in March 2022. Eight provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in Quebec, followed by Manitoba. The declines were reported in Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick.
In January-March 2022, Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was up 29.8% over January-March 2021. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 62.4%. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 2.3%.
National non-residential construction investment increased 12.5% compared to January-March 2021. Six provinces reported increases, with the largest increases in Quebec and Nova Scotia. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador, followed by Prince Edward Island.
In January-March 2022, the increase in Nova Scotia non-residential building construction was due to higher investment in commercial and industrial investment in Halifax, as well as higher institutional/government investment outside of Halifax. The increase was partially offset by lower commercial investment outside of Halifax compared to January-March 2021.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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