The six-month trend in housing starts increased (1.6%) in August (267,259 units), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
Actual housing starts were up 10% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 18,408 units recorded in August, compared to 16,775 units in August 2024. The year-to-date total was 156,283, up 4% from the same period in 2024.
The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was down 16% in August (245,791 units) compared to July (293,537 units).
“The slowdown in the SAAR that we saw in August is notable as it is well below the six-month trend line. If sustained, this adjustment in the level of housing starts would be consistent with both our forecast and current market intelligence indicating a slowdown in the pace of housing construction. It is worth noting that current housing starts levels are generally reflective of decisions made when interest rates were receding and investor confidence was higher than it is today,” said Kevin Hughes, CMHC's Deputy Chief Economist.
Key Facts:
— The rural starts monthlySAAR estimate was 22,063 units.
— Among Canada's big three cities,Vancouver recorded a 46% year-over-year increase in starts compared to the same month last year, driven by higher multi-unit and single-detached starts. Montreal posted a 32% year-over-year increase in actual housing starts, driven by significantly higher multi-unit starts. Toronto's housing starts were similar to August 2024.
— CMHC's Starts and Completions Survey provides Canadians with objective, accurate and timely information on actual new residential construction in Canada. Read more about why housing starts matter on CMHC's Housing Observer.
— Monthly Housing Starts and Other Construction Data are accessible in English and French on our website and the CMHC Housing Market Information Portal.
— Housing starts data is available on the eleventh business day each month. We will release the September housing starts data onOctober 16 at 8:15 AM ET.
— CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and to obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as the multi-unit segment largely drives the market and can vary significantly from one month to the next.
— Read about ourdefinitions and methodologyto better understand the foundations of the Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys.
Housing starts facilitate the analysis of monthly, quarterly, and year-over-year activity in the new home market. The data CMHC collects as part of the Starts and Completions and Market Absorption surveys helps us obtain a clearer picture of upcoming new housing supply and is used as part of our various housing reports.
CMHC plays a critical role as a national convenor to promote stability and sustainability in Canada's housing finance system. CMHC's mortgage insurance products support access to homeownership and the creation and maintenance of rental supply.CMHC research and data help inform housing policy. By facilitating co-operation between all levels of government, private and non-profit sectors, CMHC contributes to advancing housing affordability, equity, and climate compatibility. CMHC actively supports the Government of Canada in delivering on its commitment to make housing more affordable.
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Related Links:
— Housing starts for July 2025
— 2025 Housing Supply Report
— Housing shortages in Canada
— 2025 Mid-Year Rental Market Update
— Solving the housing crisis is a marathon not a sprint
Table 2Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and OverJanuary – August 2024 – 2025Area Single-Detached All Others TotalProvince 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 %N.L. 399 440 10 188 261 39 587 701 19P.E.I. 139 199 43 698 757 8 837 956 14N.S. 996 1,014 2 3,953 4,944 25 4,949 5,958 20N.B. 603 585 -3 2,439 2,772 14 3,042 3,357 10Atlantic 2,137 2,238 5 7,278 8,734 20 9,415 10,972 17Que. 2,723 2,999 10 22,109 30,656 39 24,832 33,655 36Ont. 8,098 6,492 -20 42,572 32,478 -24 50,670 38,970 -23Man. 1,130 1,474 30 2,827 2,707 -4 3,957 4,181 6Sask. 763 1,085 42 1,640 2,515 53 2,403 3,600 50Alta. 9,854 10,443 6 19,956 25,775 29 29,810 36,218 21Prairies 11,747 13,002 11 24,423 30,997 27 36,170 43,999 22B.C. 2,929 2,631 -10 25,862 26,056 1 28,791 28,687 0Canada 27,634 27,362 -1 122,244 128,921 5 149,878 156,283 4Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 120 118 -2 509 1,459 187 629 1,577 151Barrie 265 102 -62 331 490 48 596 592 -1Belleville – Quinte West 125 105 -16 112 272 143 237 377 59Brantford 131 210 60 19 1,230 ## 150 1,440 ##Calgary 4,565 4,596 1 10,759 14,036 30 15,324 18,632 22Chilliwack 104 86 -17 274 269 -2 378 355 -6Drummondville 110 154 40 554 645 16 664 799 20Edmonton 4,355 4,732 9 7,569 9,969 32 11,924 14,701 23Fredericton 189 164 -13 254 670 164 443 834 88Greater/Grand Sudbury 43 65 51 37 125 238 80 190 138Guelph 36 21 -42 298 78 -74 334 99 -70Halifax 540 524 -3 3,516 4,442 26 4,056 4,966 22Hamilton 199 212 7 1,276 1,826 43 1,475 2,038 38Kamloops 67 57 -15 132 300 127 199 357 79Kelowna 246 175 -29 2,962 1,862 -37 3,208 2,037 -37Kingston 146 122 -16 140 734 424 286 856 199Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 268 244 -9 1,943 2,022 4 2,211 2,266 2Lethbridge 172 232 35 405 199 -51 577 431 -25London 357 320 -10 2,438 981 -60 2,795 1,301 -53Moncton 170 192 13 1,569 1,756 12 1,739 1,948 12Montréal 706 832 18 10,672 15,889 49 11,378 16,721 47Nanaimo 106 59 -44 666 278 -58 772 337 -56Oshawa 302 260 -14 1,120 426 -62 1,422 686 -52Ottawa-Gatineau 1,109 1,124 1 5,247 7,292 39 6,356 8,416 32Gatineau 244 286 17 1,738 1,436 -17 1,982 1,722 -13Ottawa 865 838 -3 3,509 5,856 67 4,374 6,694 53Peterborough 99 51 -48 95 17 -82 194 68 -65Québec 403 457 13 4,247 5,457 28 4,650 5,914 27Red Deer 53 89 68 247 232 -6 300 321 7Regina 161 235 46 703 858 22 864 1,093 27Saguenay 142 166 17 165 271 64 307 437 42St. Catharines-Niagara 457 298 -35 771 1,166 51 1,228 1,464 19Saint John 140 144 3 363 172 -53 503 316 -37St. John's 340 398 17 160 238 49 500 636 27Saskatoon 552 801 45 911 1,544 69 1,463 2,345 60Sherbrooke 189 179 -5 711 766 8 900 945 5Thunder Bay 41 59 44 102 63 -38 143 122 -15Toronto 2,835 2,044 -28 27,380 14,407 -47 30,215 16,451 -46Trois-Rivières 117 117 – 649 801 23 766 918 20Vancouver 1,436 1,347 -6 17,084 17,058 0 18,520 18,405 -1Victoria 187 190 2 2,519 3,357 33 2,706 3,547 31Windsor 284 226 -20 1,126 515 -54 1,410 741 -47Winnipeg 932 1,333 43 2,475 2,376 -4 3,407 3,709 9Total 22,799 22,840 0 112,510 116,548 4 135,309 139,388 31Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023, 2024 and 2025 based on 2021 Census Definitions.Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey
Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over Single-Detached All Others Total August 2024 August 2025 % August 2024 August 2025 % August 2024 August 2025 %Provinces (10,000+)N.-L. 76 64 -16 52 44 -15 128 108 -16P.E.I. 20 27 35 31 143 361 51 170 233N.S. 124 142 15 166 428 158 290 570 97N.B. 111 135 22 595 416 -30 706 551 -22Atlantic 331 368 11 844 1,031 22 1,175 1,399 19Qc 374 392 5 2,352 2,743 17 2,726 3,135 15Ont. 1,352 1,071 -21 3,996 4,078 2 5,348 5,149 -4Man. 195 183 -6 413 553 34 608 736 21Sask. 117 159 36 158 239 51 275 398 45Alta. 1,444 1,238 -14 2,554 2,686 5 3,998 3,924 -2Prairies 1,756 1,580 -10 3,125 3,478 11 4,881 5,058 4B.C. 413 395 -4 2,232 3,272 47 2,645 3,667 39Canada (10,000+) 4,226 3,806 -10 12,549 14,602 16 16,775 18,408 10Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 17 19 12 9 67 ## 26 86 231Barrie 31 10 -68 142 18 -87 173 28 -84Belleville – Quinte West 24 16 -33 11 1 -91 35 17 -51Brantford 17 22 29 0 176 ## 17 198 ##Calgary 597 467 -22 1,078 1,564 45 1,675 2,031 21Chilliwack 17 15 -12 5 3 -40 22 18 -18Drummondville 25 14 -44 84 77 -8 109 91 -17Edmonton 691 629 -9 1,177 1,013 -14 1,868 1,642 -12Fredericton 36 28 -22 133 51 -62 169 79 -53Greater/Grand Sudbury 3 12 300 0 14 ## 3 26 ##Guelph 3 5 67 27 1 -96 30 6 -80Halifax 75 81 8 129 371 188 204 452 122Hamilton 36 52 44 89 168 89 125 220 76Kamloops 4 0 ### 1 0 -100 5 0 ###Kelowna 54 13 -76 14 13 -7 68 26 -62Kingston 39 14 -64 63 4 -94 102 18 -82Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 27 36 33 304 613 102 331 649 96Lethbridge 58 18 -69 218 1 -100 276 19 -93London 58 38 -34 412 86 -79 470 124 -74Moncton 33 58 76 408 327 -20 441 385 -13Montréal 90 81 -10 1,148 1,557 36 1,238 1,638 32Nanaimo 12 10 -17 2 109 ## 14 119 ##Oshawa 52 72 38 241 190 -21 293 262 -11Ottawa-Gatineau 163 177 9 582 354 -39 745 531 -29Gatineau 37 50 35 84 101 20 121 151 25Ottawa 126 127 1 498 253 -49 624 380 -39Peterborough 8 10 25 55 0 -100 63 10 -84Québec 73 55 -25 357 360 1 430 415 -3Red Deer 6 11 83 0 13 ## 6 24 300Regina 25 37 48 24 47 96 49 84 71Saguenay 11 24 118 30 20 -33 41 44 7St. Catharines-Niagara 26 37 42 169 194 15 195 231 18Saint John 24 31 29 24 12 -50 48 43 -10St. John's 64 52 -19 43 33 -23 107 85 -21Saskatoon 83 116 40 123 180 46 206 296 44Sherbrooke 35 26 -26 93 34 -63 128 60 -53Thunder Bay 7 13 86 0 0 – 7 13 86Toronto 544 320 -41 1,619 1,836 13 2,163 2,156 0Trois-Rivières 24 15 -38 125 118 -6 149 133 -11Vancouver 192 209 9 1,534 2,317 51 1,726 2,526 46Victoria 20 32 60 427 595 39 447 627 40Windsor 65 38 -42 94 46 -51 159 84 -47Winnipeg 161 155 -4 323 517 60 484 672 39Total 3,530 3,068 -13 11,317 13,100 16 14,847 16,168 9Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023, 2024 and 2025 based on 2021 Census Definitions.Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey## not calculable / extreme value
Housing Start Data – Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) Single-Detached All Others Total July 2025 August 2025 % July 2025 August 2025 % July 2025 August 2025 %Provinces (10,000+)N.L. 780 514 -34 432 480 11 1,212 994 -18P.E.I. 387 311 -20 2,040 1,716 -16 2,427 2,027 -16N.S. 1,657 1,696 2 15,035 5,139 -66 16,692 6,835 -59N.B. 1,009 920 -9 7,234 4,855 -33 8,243 5,775 -30Qc 5,108 4,744 -7 50,485 44,769 -11 55,593 49,513 -11Ont. 10,404 10,717 3 63,728 45,338 -29 74,132 56,055 -24Man. 2,309 1,934 -16 2,676 6,636 148 4,985 8,570 72Sask. 1,531 1,699 11 3,288 2,868 -13 4,819 4,567 -5Alta. 14,886 13,501 -9 34,909 32,127 -8 49,795 45,628 -8B.C. 4,000 4,284 7 50,432 39,480 -22 54,432 43,764 -20Canada (10,000+) 42,071 40,320 -4 230,259 183,408 -20 272,330 223,728 -18Canada (All Areas) 56,114 55,271 -2 237,421 190,519 -20 293,537 245,791 -16Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 251 180 -28 2,376 804 -66 2,627 984 -63Barrie 174 134 -23 3,804 216 -94 3,978 350 -91Belleville – Quinte West 217 156 -28 1,044 12 -99 1,261 168 -87Brantford 235 373 59 0 2,112 ## 235 2,485 ##Calgary 6,408 5,703 -11 15,696 18,768 20 22,104 24,471 11Chilliwack 53 153 189 53 36 -32 245 189 -23Drummondville 194 154 -21 1,044 924 -11 1,238 1,078 -13Edmonton 6,729 6,434 -4 18,432 12,156 -34 25,161 18,590 -26Fredericton 322 231 -28 2,604 612 -76 2,926 843 -71Greater/Grand Sudbury 194 189 -3 276 168 -39 470 357 -24Guelph 36 43 19 504 12 -98 540 55 -90Halifax 721 943 31 13,380 4,452 -67 14,101 5,395 -62Hamilton 417 550 32 10,716 2,016 -81 11,133 2,566 -77Kamloops 87 10 -89 2,088 0 -100 2,175 10 -100Kelowna 298 127 -57 2,040 156 -92 2,338 283 -88Kingston 198 184 -7 180 48 -73 378 232 -39Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 713 386 -46 3,960 7,356 86 4,673 7,742 66Lethbridge 380 249 -34 96 12 -88 476 261 -45London 471 417 -11 4,224 1,032 -76 4,695 1,449 -69Moncton 200 358 79 4,020 3,924 -2 4,220 4,282 1Montréal 1,303 1,277 -2 26,899 19,090 -29 28,202 20,367 -28Nanaimo 38 94 147 72 1,308 ## 110 1,402 ##Oshawa 453 529 17 768 2,280 197 1,221 2,809 130Ottawa-Gatineau 1,754 1,753 0 15,540 4,248 -73 17,294 6,001 -65Gatineau 716 560 -22 2,640 1,212 -54 3,356 1,772 -47Ottawa 1,038 1,193 15 12,900 3,036 -76 13,938 4,229 -70Peterborough 108 84 -22 168 0 -100 276 84 -70Québec 590 582 -1 7,668 4,320 -44 8,258 4,902 -41Red Deer 155 137 -12 36 156 333 191 293 53Regina 280 352 26 504 564 12 784 916 17Saguenay 301 216 -28 504 240 -52 805 456 -43St. Catharines-Niagara 536 460 -14 2,784 2,328 -16 3,320 2,788 -16Saint John 274 276 1 504 144 -71 778 420 -46St. John's 772 484 -37 396 396 – 1,168 880 -25Saskatoon 1,235 1,338 8 2,628 2,160 -18 3,863 3,498 -9Sherbrooke 345 215 -38 480 408 -15 825 623 -24Thunder Bay 112 112 – 312 0 -100 424 112 -74Toronto 2,535 3,254 28 17,532 22,032 26 20,067 25,286 26Trois-Rivières 131 143 9 612 1,416 131 743 1,559 110Vancouver 2,139 2,151 1 34,968 27,804 -20 37,107 29,955 -19Victoria 342 396 16 6,588 7,140 8 6,930 7,536 9Windsor 356 304 -15 2,448 552 -77 2,804 856 -69Winnipeg 2,162 1,629 -25 2,352 6,204 164 4,514 7,833 74Data for 2022 based on 2016 Census Definitions and data for 2023, 2024 and 2025 based on 2021 Census Definitions.Source: CMHC Starts and Completion Survey, Market Absorption Survey## not calculable / extreme value
SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
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