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March 14, 2023BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, JANUARY 2023 Month-over-month (January 2023 vs December 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 4.1% in January 2023 to $400.7 million. Halifax monthly building construction increased 5.9% to $204.1 million and outside of Halifax building construction was up 2.3% to $195.6 million. Nationally, investment in building construction increased 1.5%. Monthly building construction was up in six provinces as Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia reported the largest gains. Prince Edward Island posted the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's January 2023 residential construction investment increased 4.7% to $338.7 million. Halifax residential construction was up 6.5% to $163.3 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 3.1% to $175.4 million. National residential construction was up 1.9% as six provinces reported higher residential construction investment. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest increase and Prince Edward Island the largest decrease.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction increased 1.0% to $62.0 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 3.7% to $40.8 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 3.9% to $21.2 million. National non-residential building construction was up 0.5% in January 2023. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increases in Manitoba. There were small declines in Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, and British Columbia.
Year-over-Year(January 2023 vs January 2022, seasonally adjusted)
Compared to January 2022, building construction investment was down 18.1% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 22.3% and outside of Halifax construction activity was down 13.3%. National building construction investment was up 3.9% with increases in six provinces, led by Saskatchewan and British Columbia. The largest decline was in Prince Edward Island.
Residential construction investment was down 20.3% in Nova Scotia compared to January 2022. Halifax' residential construction was down 27.9% and outside of Halifax, residential construction was down 11.7% compared to the previous year. National residential construction was up 1.8%, led by British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The largest decrease was in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was down 3.3% compared to January 2022. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 13.2 while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 24.5%. National non-residential construction investment increased 9.9% compared to January 2022. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increases in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment decline from $489 million in January 2022 to $401 million was mostly attributable to declines in residential investment both within and outside Halifax. Halifax residential decline was more notable in single dwellings than multiple dwellings. The small non-residential decrease occurred with lower investment in industrial and institutional/governmental buildings offsetting higher commercial investment.
Trends
Building construction increased over the recent years with rising residential investment in Halifax and outside Halifax. Residential building construction peaked in 2022 and has been on downward trend in recent months. Non-residential building construction has been maintaining a slightly elevated level in Halifax in the most recent periods.
In Halifax, residential construction investment was trending up for both single and multi-unit dwellings until mid 2022. However, in recent months both are declining. Outside the city, growth in single dwelling unit construction is stronger than in multi-unit structures.
Non-residential building construction has lower values than residential construction. Halifax commercial and industrial building construction have been on increasing trend since the end of 2021, however industrial construction is declining in recent months. Outside the city, non-residential construction trended down in 2022 for all three categories of non-residential building: commercial, industrial, and government/institutional.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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