Canada Housing Starts

Last Release

Jan 31, 2025

Actual

239.7

Units In

Thousand units

232.5

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Mar 17, 2025

Time to Release

26 Days 12 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
333.28 Mar 2021	90.7 Aug 1982	192.86 Thousand units	1977-2025	Canada Mortgage And Housing Corporation

In Canada, a housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on the building where the dwelling unit will be located. This can be described in 2 ways: usually, the stage when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure; or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure.

Latest Updates

Housing starts in Canada increased by 3% month-over-month to 239,739 units in January 2025, below market expectations of 251,000 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total urban housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or more increased by 3% to 220,643 units, driven by a 14.7% drop in multi-unit urban starts to 168,515 units and a 9.54% decrease in single-detached urban starts to 45,485 units. The SAAR estimate for rural starts stood at 19,096 units. Actual housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or greater were up 7% year-over-year in January 2025, with Montréal posting a 112% year-over-year increase, reflecting a recovery from historically low levels last year. In contrast, while Vancouver recorded a 37% increase, Toronto fell 41% from January 2024, driven by decreases in multi-unit starts.