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May 17, 2023BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, MARCH 2023 Month-over-month (March 2023 vs February 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 12.2% in March 2023 to $518.5 million. Halifax monthly building construction increased 7.5% to $223.4 million and outside of Halifax building construction was up 16.0% to $295.1 million. Nationally, investment in building construction decreased 1.3%. Monthly building construction was up only in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Québec. Saskatchewan posted the largest decline.
Nova Scotia's March 2023 residential construction investment increased 13.6% to $452.4 million. Halifax residential construction was up 8.3% to $179.5 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 17.4% to $272.9 million. National residential construction was down 2.1% with gains in only Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Québec. Saskatchewan reported the largest decrease.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction increased 2.9% to $66.1 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 4.1% to $43.9 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 0.8% to $22.1 million. National non-residential building construction was up 0.9% in March 2023. Six provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in Prince Edward Island. The largest decline was in Saskatchewan.
Year-to-date (January-March 2023 vs January-March 2022)
Compared to January-March 2022, building construction investment was down 6.0% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 17.7% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 6.8%%. National building construction investment was up 1.5% with increases in four provinces, led by British Columbia. The largest decline was in Prince Edward Island.
Residential construction investment was down 6.6% in Nova Scotia compared to January-March 2022. Halifax's year-to-date residential construction was down 22.9% and outside of Halifax, residential construction was up 10.9% year-to-date. National residential construction was down 1.4% with gains only in British Columbia and Ontario. The largest decrease was in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was down 2.6% compared to January-March 2022. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 12.8% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 23.0%. National non-residential construction investment increased 9.8% compared to January-March 2022. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increases in New Brunswick. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment decline from $1.48 billion in January-March 2022 to $1.39 billion was mostly attributable to declines in residential investment in 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 then declined for several months. In recent results, residential building construction activity has picked up again, particularly outside Halifax. 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. The reversal of the downward trend in residential construction for the province is largely attributable to single-dwelling unit projects outside the city.
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. In recent months, there has been some growth in commercial building construction outside the city.
Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0175-01 Investment in Building Construction
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