The Economics and Statistics Division maintains archives of previous publications for accountability purposes, but makes no updates to keep these documents current with the latest data revisions from Statistics Canada. As a result, information in older documents may not be accurate. Please exercise caution when referring to older documents. For the latest information and historical data, please contact the individual listed to the right.
<--- Return to Archive
For additional information relating to this article, please contact:
June 15, 2023BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, APRIL 2023 Month-over-month (April 2023 vs March 2023, seasonally adjusted)
Investment in Nova Scotia building construction increased 14.1% in April 2023 to $617.2 million. Halifax monthly building construction increased 23.7% to $283.7 million and outside of Halifax building construction was up 7.1% to $333.5 million. Nationally, investment in building construction increased 0.4% with the largest gain in Prince Edward Island. Monthly building construction was down only in Alberta and Québec.
Nova Scotia's April 2023 residential construction investment increased 15.6% to $548.1 million. Halifax residential construction was up 28.2% to $237.4 million. Outside of Halifax residential construction was up 7.5% to $310.7 million. National residential construction was down 0.7% with declines in Alberta, Québec, and Ontario. Prince Edward Island reported the largest gain.
Nova Scotia's non-residential building construction increased 3.9% to $69.1 million. In Halifax, non-residential construction was up 4.8% to $46.3 million. Outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was up 1.9% to $22.8 million. National non-residential building construction was up 3.4% in April 2023. Eight provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in Ontario. The only declines were reported in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Year-to-date (January-April 2023 vs January-April 2022)
Compared to January-April 2022, building construction investment was up 4.7% in Nova Scotia. Halifax construction activity was down 8.0% and outside of Halifax construction activity was up 18.7%. National building construction investment was up 0.4% with increases in five provinces, led by British Columbia. The largest decline was in Prince Edward Island.
Residential construction investment was up 5.6% in Nova Scotia compared to January-April 2022. Halifax's year-to-date residential construction was down 11.9% and outside of Halifax, residential construction was up 24.3% year-to-date. National residential construction was down 3.1% with gains only in British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. The largest decrease was in Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia's non-residential construction was down 0.9% compared to January-April 2022. Halifax's non-residential construction rose 14.3% while outside of Halifax, non-residential construction was down 21.3%. National non-residential construction investment increased 10.4% compared to January-April 2022. Seven provinces reported increases, with the largest increase in New Brunswick. The largest decline was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nova Scotia's total building construction investment increased from $1.94 billion in January-April 2022 to $2.03 billion was mostly attributable to increases in residential investment outside Halifax and non-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 buildings offsetting higher commercial investment and institutional/governmental buildings.
Trends
Building construction increased over 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 recent 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 which was increasing 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
<--- Return to Archive
