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For additional information relating to this article, please contact:

Thomas StorringDirector – Economics and Statistics
Tel: 902-424-2410Email: thomas.storring@novascotia.ca

December 11, 2024
INFRASTRUCTURE STOCK, INVESTMENT, AGE AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS, 2023-REVISED

Statistics Canada has released revised infrastructure economic accounts for 2023. These data report the stock of infrastructure, which is diminished by estimated depreciation and increased by investment in new capital.  The data are reported for both public and private owners of infrastructure as well as by the type of asset and public service function it performs (categorized in the broad Classification of Functions of Government).  Except where public and private infrastructure are explicitly reported, this analysis focuses primarily on infrastructure by function performed, which includes both public and private infrastructure.

Data have been revised for 2021, 2022 and 2023 to be consistent with recently released income and expenditure accounts for GDP.

Capital stock and investment (2023)

At the end of 2023, Nova Scotia's infrastructure net capital stock was $21.8 billion or $20,597 per person. Nationally, infrastructure net capital stock was $1,149 billion or $28,665 per person. Newfoundland and Labrador and Prairie Provinces had the highest per capita infrastructure stock at the end of 2023.

Public infrastructure assets make up 65.4% of infrastructure in Nova Scotia - the second lowest public share among provinces (only ahead of Alberta).   

In 2023, a total of $2.317 billion in investments in infrastructure were made in Nova Scotia ($2,193 per capita).  Nationally, investment in infrastructure was $2,785 per capita.  Alberta and British Columbia reported the highest per capita investments in infrastructure while Manitoba reported the least investments.  Investment in public infrastructure accounted for 66.9% of Nova Scotia's investment in infrastructure in 2023, the second lowest public share after Alberta.

Across Canada, transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, canals, rails, ports, airports, pipelines) accounts for the largest portion of the stock of infrastructure: $7,940 per capita.  Nova Scotia had less transportation infrastructure per capita at $6,665 in 2023.  

Fuel and energy infrastructure (primarily power generation and transmission) accounts for the next largest category of infrastructure by function.  Nationally, there was $7,417 in fuel and energy infrastructure per capita with the largest amounts in Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba.  Nova Scotia's fuel and energy infrastructure capital stock was $4,557 per capita - the second lowest among provinces after Prince Edward Island.

Nova Scotia's 2023 investment in new transportation infrastructure amounted to $913 per capita - below the national average of $996 per capita.  The highest investments in transport infrastructure were in Alberta and British Columbia.  The lowest investments in transport in 2023 were in Price Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Nova Scotia had $340 per capita in investment in fuel and energy infrastructure.  Nationally, investment in fuel and energy infrastructure was $582 per capita with the highest investment in British Columbia and the lowest in Prince Edward Island.

Education (primarily schools, universities, colleges) and health care (hospitals, nursing/residential care buildings) were the next two largest categories of infrastructure by function.  

Nova Scotia's education infrastructure amounted to $3,622 per capita in 2023, just below the national average of $3,824 per capita.  Education infrastructure was highest in Alberta and lowest in New Brunswick.  

Health infrastructure in Nova Scotia was the second lowest per capita at $1,531 (ahead of Prince Edward Island).  Nationally, there was $2,332 per capita in health infrastructure, with the highest amount in Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Nova Scotia's investment in education infrastructure was the second highest among provinces in 2023 at $361per capita (just behind Prince Edward Island).  Across Canada, there were $301 per capita worth of investments made in education infrastructure in 2023.  Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest per capita investments in education infrastructure.

Nova Scotia investment in health infrastructure was $183 per capita, which was below the national average of $224 per capita.  Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest per capita investments in health infrastructure.  The lowest amount of per capita health infrastructure investments were reported in Prince Edward Island.   

The next three largest categories of infrastructure capital stock by function were: environmental protection (primarily wastewater collection and treatment),  housing and community amenities (primarily water infrastructure), and recreation/culture/religion (mostly sport/recreation facilities - both indoor and outdoor).

Nova Scotia has the second lowest per capita stock of housing and community amenities (ie: water) at $707 and the third lowest per capita stock in environmental protection infrastructure (ie: wastewater) at $1,206.  Saskatchewan had the highest housing/community amenity stock per capita. Alberta had the highest per capita stock in environmental/wastewater infrastructure.  Prince Edward Island had the lowest per capita capital stock in both housing/community amenities and environmental/wastewater infrastructure.

Nova Scotia's recreation infrastructure amounted to $890 per capita in 2023, the second lowest among provinces (ahead of New Brunswick).  National average recreational capital stock was $1,389 per capita in 2023.  Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the highest per capita recreational capital stock.

Nova Scotia's per capita investment in housing/water infrastructure ($17 per capita) was the lowest among provinces.  Nova Scotia's investment in environmental/wastewater infrastructure ($144 per capita) was above the national average.  Saskatchewan reported the largest investments per capita in housing/water while Alberta reported the highest per capita investments in environmental/wastewater infrastructure.  Manitoba reported the lowest investments per capita in environmental/wastewater infrastructure.   

Nova Scotia's investment in recreation infrastructure was $61 per capita, the lowest among provinces.  National average investment in recreational infrastructure was $148 per capita in 2023.  Prince Edward Island reported the largest per capita investments in recreation infrastructure. 

Infrastructure for communications (cables, structures), public transit (buses, rolling rail stock) and public order/safety buildings had the smallest value of per capita stocks as reported by public service function.  

Nova Scotia reported communications infrastructure stock of $931 per capita.  National communications infrastructure per capita was $1,215 with the highest amount in New Brunswick.  The lowest values were in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Nova Scotia's public transit equipment stock was $140 per capita in 2023. The Atlantic provinces had the lowest per capita values of public transit infrastructure (lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador). Nationally, there was $551 in public transit infrastructure per capita.  The highest amount was in Saskatchewan.

Nova Scotia had $348 per capita in public order and safety infrastructure in 2023.  This was below the national average of $465 per capita.  The highest public order and safety infrastructure per capita was in Manitoba and the lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nova Scotia reported lower than national average investments per capita in communications ($162 per capita), the second lowest investment in public transit ($5 per capita) and the lowest investment public order and safety ($8 per capita) in 2023.  Communications investment was highest in New Brunswick and lowest in Alberta.  Public transit investments per capita were highest in Saskatchewan and lowest in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Public order and safety investments per capita were highest in Prince Edward Island and lowest in Québec and Nova Scotia.

Trends in capital stock

When measured at constant prices, the stock of Nova Scotia infrastructure assets remained largely stable from 2000 to 2008.  Since then, there has been mostly steady increases in the stock of infrastructure in Nova Scotia (except 2015).  

Transportation infrastructure in Nova Scotia has been rising steadily, with accelerated growth since 2019.  Fuel and energy infrastructure exhibits periods of rapid increases (2009-2010, 2015-2017 and 2021-2023), typically followed by periods of a stable stock of infrastructure.

Nova Scotia's education infrastructure has risen substantially since 2008 and particularly since 2020. Health infrastructure stock declined from 2012 to 2017 (including depreciation), but has risen since then.

Nova Scotia's housing (ie: water) infrastructure has been on a slow decline since 2016. Environmental (ie: wastewater) infrastructure values trended down from 2012 to 2020, but have edged up lately.  Recreation infrastructure increased substantially from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2020, but has fallen in the years since.

Communications infrastructure trended down in most years from 2003 to 2015 (except 2010 and 2011).  There were substantial increases in Nova Scotia's communications infrastructure stock from 2015 to 2023. 

Nova Scotia's public transit equipment stock declined (in real terms) from 2014 to 2023. 

The stock of Nova Scotia's public order and safety building infrastructure has generally trended down since 2014. 

Average age

Infrastructure can also be measured by the "average age" of the assets used in public service functions.  The average age of all infrastructure in Nova Scotia was 13.5 years in 2023, above the national average of 13.2 years.  The oldest infrastructure in Canada was reported in New Brunswick while the newest was reported in Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Nova Scotia's fuel and energy infrastructure (mostly electric power generation and transmission) had an average age of 15.9 years in 2023, which was above the national average age of 15.0 years.  The oldest fuel and energy infrastructure was in New Brunswick and the newest in Newfoundland and Labrador.  

Nova Scotia's transport infrastructure had an average age of 10.3 years in 2023, the same as the national average.  Newfoundland and Labrador had the oldest transport infrastructure while British Columbia had the newest.

Nova Scotia's health infrastructure (hospitals, nursing/residential care facilities) had an average age of 15.5 years, which was above the national average of 14.1 years.  New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had the oldest health infrastructure while Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec had the newest.

Nova Scotia's education infrastructure (schools, colleges, universities) had an average age of 14.9 years in 2023, which was the second newest among provinces (national average: 15.7 years).  New Brunswick and Saskatchewan had the oldest education infrastructure in 2023. 

Nova Scotia's housing/water infrastructure (18.8 years) was the oldest among provinces.  Nova Scotia's environmental/wastewater (17.5 years) infrastructure assets were the third oldest among provinces (after Manitoba and New Brunswick).  Nova Scotia's recreational facilities had an average age of 10.6 years - newer than the national average (11.6 years).  Prince Edward Island reported the newest infrastructure for housing/water, and recreational facilities while Alberta reported the newest wastewater/environmental assets.  Manitoba reported the oldest environmental/wastewater infrastucture while Manitoba, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador reported the oldest recreational infrastructure.

Nova Scotia's infrastructure for public transit equipment (12.0 years) and public order and safety (19.6 years) were both the oldest among provinces. Nova Scotia's communications infrastructure had an average age of 8.2 years - the third oldest after Alberta and British Columbia.

Nationally, public transit equipment had an average age of 9.7 years with the newest infrastructure in Prince Edward Island.  Communications infrastructure had an average age of 7.8 years across Canada with the newest infrastructure in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.  Public order and safety building infrastructure had an average age of 15.2 years, with the newest infrastructure in Alberta.

Economic impacts

Statistics Canada has re-estimated the economic impacts associated with infrastructure investments over time.  These impacts are measured in terms of jobs (headcount, not person-years), compensation of employees and value added in nominal terms. Note that compensation of employees is a component of value added.

Economic impacts are divided into direct impacts generated within the industry undertaking the investment and indirect impacts generated in industries that supply the directly-affected industry.  The total economic impact is the sum of direct and indirect economic impact.

In 2023, Nova Scotia's investment in infrastructure amounted to $2.317 billion.  This generated direct employment of 10,100 jobs as well as a further 6,400 in indirect employment among supplier industries for a total impact of 16,500.  This total employment impact was up from 15,900 estimated for 2022.  Employment impacts of infrastructure investments have risen by 5,900 since 2018.

The total employment impacts of Nova Scotia's infrastructure investment in 2023 generated $787 million in direct employee compensation and a further $412 million in indirect employee compensation for a total impact of $1,198 million in employee compensation.  

Including value added beyond compensation of employees, Nova Scotia's infrastructure investments in 2023 generated $1.15 billion in direct value added as well as $0.68 billion in indirect value added for a total impact on value added of $1.83 billion.

Notes: Infrastructure is defined as physical structures and systems that support the production of goods and service and their delivery to and consumption by governments, business and citizens. Infrastructure assets are tangible assets that generally enable or perform a support function and includes both economic asset (i.e. highways, road, energy generation/transmission, sewage systems) and social assets (i.e. hospitals, schools, pollution abatement, recreation facilities, law enforcement facilities). The value of the capital stock is measured using perpetual inventory method where investment are positive flows that accumulated the asset which is depreciated over time as assets age. Assets in the data can be separated by purchasing sector, asset type, or function. Infrastructure assets do not include all types of non-residential assets, for instance buses and trains are included while some other types of mobile assets (defense ships, aircraft, ambulances) are not considered part of infrastructure assets.

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0608-01  Infrastructure Economic Accounts, investment and net stock by asset, industry, and asset function (x 1,000,000)Table 36-10-0610-01  Infrastructure Economic Accounts, economic impact by asset, industry, and asset function (x 1,000,000)Table 36-10-0611-01  Infrastructure Economic Accounts, average age and remaining useful service life ratio by asset and asset function



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