Highlights from ‘Building Construction Price Index, Q2 2024’ and ‘Canada GDP by Industry, May 2024’

The following statistics were released from the Economics and Statistics Division on July 30 and 31, 2024, respectively.

For full details from ‘Building Construction Price Index, Q2 2024,’ please click here.

For full details from ‘Canada GDP by Industry, May 2024,’ please click here.

Building Construction Price Index, Q2 2024

  • Overall non-residential building costs were up 2.0% in Halifax from Q2 2023 to Q2 2024
    • This was the slowest growth in non-residential construction costs among major cities
  • The pace of building cost inflation was slower for:
    • bus depot/repair facilities (+0.7%)
    • office buildings (+1.8%)
    • shopping centres (+1.8%).
  • There was faster growth for:
    • schools (+2.1%)
    • warehouse structures (+2.2%)
    • factory buildings (+2.3%)

  • Halifax’s non-residential building construction cost growth peaked in Q1 2022 and subsequently decelerated
  • Non-residential building construction costs continued to slow throughout 2023 and first half of 2024.
  • Non-residential building construction costs grew most rapidly among general requirements, wood/plastics/composites, and equipment

Canada GDP by Industry, May 2024

Month-over-Month (May 2024 vs April 2024)

  • Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Canada was up 0.2% in May following 0.3% growth in April 2024
  • In May 2024, most industries have grown from the previous month

Year-to-date (January-May 2024 vs January-May 2023)

  • The Canadian economy was 0.9% larger in January-May 2024 when compared to the same period of 2023
  • Real GDP from goods producing industries was down 1.1% with losses across all industries except mining/oil/gas (+4.1%)