A slowdown in residential development on P.E.I. is due in large part to a number of substantial infrastructure projects announced over the last year, according to the Construction Association of P.E.I.

Housing completions on the Island have been on the decline for the last two years — despite an ongoing housing crisis that’s seen vacancy rates drop below one per cent and home prices rise 45 per cent.

Construction Association of P.E.I. general manager Sam Sanderson says the industry is already under strain.

“The industry has been running above and beyond its capacity for a number of years now, and looking at some of the larger builds that are coming into play … there’s going to be a lot of work on this year — in 2023 and 2024, a lot of very large jobs announced recently.”

Sanderson has said that the construction industry needs another 1,500 to 2,000 workers in order to catch up with all the necessary projects. Higher interest rates are also an issue for contractors looking to build.

Sanderson pointed to the new medical school at UPEI, the net-zero centre for climate change in Georgetown, the renovation of the Veterans Affairs headquarters in Charlottetown and the biomanufacturing centre in Charlottetown. 

The number of residential building permits issued on P.E.I. in recent months is down.

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