diff --git a/.github/workflows/tests.yml b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
index 42224a4984..72868dc06b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/tests.yml
@@ -352,8 +352,8 @@ jobs:
           CONDA_SUBDIR: win-64
 
       - name: Choco Install
-        if: runner.arch != 'ARM64'
-        # We may need the complete tooling so that cmake tests pass on windows
+        if: runner.arch != 'ARM64' && matrix.test-type == 'parallel'
+        # The parallel tests compile binaries with the Visual Studio 2017 toolchain
         run: choco install visualstudio2017-workload-vctools
 
       - name: Conda Install
diff --git a/news/ci-limit-vs2017-choco.md b/news/ci-limit-vs2017-choco.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..633db02d00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/ci-limit-vs2017-choco.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+### Enhancements
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Docs
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Other
+
+* Install the Visual Studio 2017 Build Tools only for Windows test jobs that
+  exercise the compiler toolchain.