Canadian Housing Starts Rise in April

On Friday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts rose 17% in April to 279,317 units, compared with 239,747 units in March.

Year-over-year, actual housing starts in centers with populations of 10,000 or greater declined 1% to 21,805 units in April, down from 21,938 units a year earlier. The year-to-date total reached 71,011 units, up 6% from the same period in 2025, driven by higher starts in British Columbia and Ontario.

The six-month trend in housing starts rose 3.2% to 256,777 units. The “trend” measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.

Among Canada’s three largest CMAs, Toronto posted a 34% year-over-year increase in actual housing starts, driven by higher multi-unit construction. Montréal starts rose 21% due to higher multi-unit starts. Vancouver recorded a 30% decline due to lower multi-unit and single-detached starts.