The six-month trend in housing starts decreased (3%) in October (268,907 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 down 3% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 19,174 units recorded in October, compared to 19,763 units in October 2024. The year-to-date total was 197,207, up 5% from the same period in 2024.
The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was down 17% in October (232,765 units) compared to September (279,174 units).
“Both the six-month trend in housing starts and the SAAR were pushed lower in October by significantly lower monthly starts in Ontario and British Columbia. However, higher starts in markets like Montréal, Calgary, and Edmonton continue to keep national year-to-date elevated compared to the same period last year. While these results are generally reflective of investment decisions made months or even years ago, they also highlight persistent and significant regional contrasts in housing construction trends across the country,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC's Deputy Chief Economist.
Key Facts:
— New: As part of the Modernizing Housing Data initiative, new housing completions data for centres with a population of 10,000+ and absorptions data for centres with a population of 50,000+ is now available on the Housing Market Information Portal.
— The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 22,062 units.
— Among Canada's big three cities, Montreal posted a 104% year-over-year increase in actual housing starts this month driven by significantly higher multi-unit starts. Vancouver recorded a 36% decrease in starts due to fewer multi-unit starts. Toronto declined 42% with both multi-unit and single-detached starts considerably lower.
— 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 November housing starts data on December 15 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 our definitions and methodology to 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 September 2025
— Fall 2025 Housing Supply Report
— Housing shortages in Canada
— Unlocking housing supply: Why scale really matters
— How common is “Missing Middle” housing development in Canada?
Table 1: Housing Starts – Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates – 6 Month Moving Average (Trend)October Single-Detached All Others Total September 2025 October 2025 % September 2025 October 2025 % September 2025 October 2025 %Provinces (10,000+)Nfld.Lab. 687 681 -1 444 374 -16 1,131 1,055 -7P.E.I. 367 372 1 1,114 880 -21 1,481 1,252 -15N.S. 1,734 1,715 -1 8,048 7,321 -9 9,782 9,036 -8N.B. 931 937 1 5,124 5,427 6 6,055 6,365 5Que. 4,766 4,837 1 45,989 46,744 2 50,754 51,581 2Ont. 10,126 10,016 -1 57,542 53,322 -7 67,669 63,338 -6Man. 2,302 2,266 -2 5,210 5,232 0 7,512 7,498 0Sask. 1,722 1,785 4 4,106 4,046 -1 5,828 5,831 0Alta. 15,536 14,842 -4 40,864 40,707 0 56,401 55,548 -2B.C. 3,969 4,114 4 43,544 40,135 -8 47,512 44,249 -7Canada (10,000+) 42,140 41,563 -1 211,985 204,189 -4 254,125 245,752 -3Canada (All Areas) 55,774 55,380 -1 221,306 213,526 -4 277,081 268,907 -3Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 149 167 12 2,060 2,080 1 2,209 2,247 2Barrie 184 176 -4 870 922 6 1,054 1,098 4Belleville – Quinte West 165 178 8 370 430 16 535 608 14Brantford 321 305 -5 1,974 1,498 -24 2,295 1,803 -21Calgary 6,894 6,337 -8 21,796 22,260 2 28,690 28,597 0Chilliwack 119 136 14 492 290 -41 611 426 -30Drummondville 207 198 -4 1,156 1,200 4 1,363 1,398 3Edmonton 6,689 6,488 -3 17,196 16,640 -3 23,885 23,128 -3Fredericton 263 267 2 1,154 1,508 31 1,417 1,775 25Greater/Grand Sudbury 104 120 15 244 256 5 348 376 8Guelph 28 25 -11 234 238 2 262 263 0Halifax 795 867 9 7,050 6,272 -11 7,845 7,139 -9Hamilton 369 360 -2 2,774 2,532 -9 3,143 2,892 -8Kamloops 48 47 -2 400 396 -1 448 443 -1Kelowna 267 269 1 2,886 2,856 -1 3,153 3,125 -1Kingston 178 206 16 1,108 1,154 4 1,286 1,360 6Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 415 500 20 4,926 4,550 -8 5,340 5,050 -5Lethbridge 384 396 3 158 118 -25 542 514 -5London 480 418 -13 3,680 3,946 7 4,160 4,364 5Moncton 275 277 1 2,906 2,842 -2 3,181 3,119 -2Montréal 1,270 1,301 2 26,419 28,176 7 27,689 29,476 6Nanaimo 80 85 6 404 408 1 484 492 2Oshawa 421 405 -4 830 832 0 1,251 1,237 -1Ottawa-Gatineau 1,601 1,487 -7 10,912 9,502 -13 12,513 10,989 -12Gatineau 475 417 -12 1,946 1,904 -2 2,421 2,321 -4Ottawa 1,126 1,070 -5 8,966 7,598 -15 10,092 8,668 -14Peterborough 79 90 14 28 28 – 107 118 10Québec 688 688 – 9,480 10,206 8 10,168 10,894 7Red Deer 140 149 6 448 450 0 588 599 2Regina 345 378 10 1,380 1,084 -21 1,725 1,462 -15Saguenay 245 238 -3 378 438 16 623 676 9St. Catharines-Niagara 423 471 11 1,702 1,788 5 2,125 2,259 6Saint John 239 253 6 436 466 7 675 719 7St. John's 655 646 -1 442 384 -13 1,097 1,030 -6Saskatoon 1,295 1,349 4 2,658 2,890 9 3,953 4,239 7Sherbrooke 263 256 -3 1,540 1,426 -7 1,803 1,682 -7Thunder Bay 110 98 -11 182 206 13 292 304 4Toronto 3,661 3,578 -2 26,396 24,550 -7 30,057 28,128 -6Trois-Rivières 145 132 -9 1,468 1,768 20 1,613 1,900 18Vancouver 2,059 2,210 7 28,760 25,700 -11 30,819 27,909 -9Victoria 316 323 2 5,994 5,914 -1 6,310 6,237 -1Windsor 336 314 -7 1,096 1,090 -1 1,432 1,404 -2Winnipeg 2,030 1,962 -3 4,486 4,494 0 6,516 6,456 -1
Data based on 2021 Census Definitions.Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
Table 2Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and OverJanuary – October 2024 – 2025Area Single-Detached All Others TotalProvince 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 %N.L. 512 571 12 287 307 7 799 878 10P.E.I. 228 290 27 982 861 -12 1,210 1,151 -5N.S. 1,329 1,374 3 4,403 5,859 33 5,732 7,233 26N.B. 799 785 -2 3,279 3,497 7 4,078 4,282 5Atlantic 2,868 3,020 5 8,951 10,524 18 11,819 13,544 15Que. 3,667 4,019 10 29,335 39,415 34 33,002 43,434 32Ont. 10,864 8,165 -25 50,765 41,513 -18 61,629 49,678 -19Man. 1,456 1,935 33 3,666 3,789 3 5,122 5,724 12Sask. 1,084 1,499 38 2,231 3,500 57 3,315 4,999 51Alta. 12,748 13,154 3 25,327 32,392 28 38,075 45,546 20Prairies 15,288 16,588 9 31,224 39,681 27 46,512 56,269 21B.C. 3,732 3,409 -9 31,966 30,873 -3 35,698 34,282 -4Canada 36,419 35,201 -3 152,241 162,006 6 188,660 197,207 5Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 158 142 -10 808 1,897 135 966 2,039 111Barrie 360 129 -64 472 559 18 832 688 -17Belleville – Quinte West 177 139 -21 135 380 181 312 519 66Brantford 172 240 40 92 1,329 ## 264 1,569 494Calgary 5,869 5,776 -2 14,235 18,175 28 20,104 23,951 19Chilliwack 127 112 -12 282 382 35 409 494 21Drummondville 141 182 29 697 854 23 838 1,036 24Edmonton 5,619 5,805 3 9,177 12,184 33 14,796 17,989 22Fredericton 258 223 -14 320 879 175 578 1,102 91Greater/Grand Sudbury 89 82 -8 67 133 99 156 215 38Guelph 49 27 -45 346 126 -64 395 153 -61Halifax 662 690 4 3,789 5,203 37 4,451 5,893 32Hamilton 328 261 -20 1,741 1,891 9 2,069 2,152 4Kamloops 78 68 -13 256 304 19 334 372 11Kelowna 313 218 -30 3,406 2,096 -38 3,719 2,314 -38Kingston 193 166 -14 316 793 151 509 959 88Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 314 363 16 2,350 3,293 40 2,664 3,656 37Lethbridge 213 304 43 411 201 -51 624 505 -19London 459 394 -14 3,059 2,198 -28 3,518 2,592 -26Moncton 225 244 8 2,227 1,968 -12 2,452 2,212 -10Montréal 936 1,113 19 12,945 21,060 63 13,881 22,173 60Nanaimo 137 79 -42 677 309 -54 814 388 -52Oshawa 377 329 -13 1,142 518 -55 1,519 847 -44Ottawa-Gatineau 1,504 1,440 -4 8,105 8,422 4 9,609 9,862 3Gatineau 335 339 1 2,754 1,578 -43 3,089 1,917 -38Ottawa 1,169 1,101 -6 5,351 6,844 28 6,520 7,945 22Peterborough 110 65 -41 128 17 -87 238 82 -66Québec 511 591 16 5,160 7,075 37 5,671 7,666 35Red Deer 76 117 54 251 242 -4 327 359 10Regina 245 328 34 836 1,235 48 1,081 1,563 45Saguenay 161 196 22 504 370 -27 665 566 -15St. Catharines-Niagara 548 357 -35 841 1,284 53 1,389 1,641 18Saint John 186 201 8 444 260 -41 630 461 -27St. John's 435 530 22 251 297 18 686 827 21Saskatoon 774 1,111 44 1,356 2,164 60 2,130 3,275 54Sherbrooke 239 219 -8 1,287 1,093 -15 1,526 1,312 -14Thunder Bay 70 81 16 202 123 -39 272 204 -25Toronto 3,922 2,732 -30 30,515 18,842 -38 34,437 21,574 -37Trois-Rivières 174 143 -18 1,292 1,110 -14 1,466 1,253 -15Vancouver 1,820 1,806 -1 21,224 20,195 -5 23,044 22,001 -5Victoria 247 238 -4 3,112 3,891 25 3,359 4,129 23Windsor 392 274 -30 1,488 653 -56 1,880 927 -51Winnipeg 1,209 1,685 39 3,129 3,229 3 4,338 4,914 13Total 29,877 29,200 -2 139,075 147,234 6 168,952 176,434 4
1Data 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 OverOctober 2024 – 2025Area Single-Detached All Others TotalProvince 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 % 2024 2025 %N.L. 54 61 13 55 27 -51 109 88 -19P.E.I. 39 48 23 86 21 -76 125 69 -45N.S. 156 154 -1 204 533 161 360 687 91N.B. 89 84 -6 300 301 0 389 385 -1Atlantic 338 347 3 645 882 37 983 1,229 25Que. 541 542 0 3,672 5,110 39 4,213 5,652 34Ont. 1,288 970 -25 4,213 2,597 -38 5,501 3,567 -35Man. 157 224 43 560 283 -49 717 507 -29Sask. 173 233 35 231 458 98 404 691 71Alta. 1,453 1,243 -14 3,045 3,589 18 4,498 4,832 7Prairies 1,783 1,700 -5 3,836 4,330 13 5,619 6,030 7B.C. 383 410 7 3,064 2,286 -25 3,447 2,696 -22Canada 4,333 3,969 -8 15,430 15,205 -1 19,763 19,174 -3Metropolitan AreasAbbotsford-Mission 12 15 25 52 212 308 64 227 255Barrie 48 0 -100 26 60 131 74 60 -19Belleville – Quinte West 14 21 50 12 30 150 26 51 96Brantford 4 18 350 53 31 -42 57 49 -14Calgary 644 545 -15 2,046 2,513 23 2,690 3,058 14Chilliwack 6 13 117 4 20 400 10 33 230Drummondville 16 16 – 76 79 4 92 95 3Edmonton 627 526 -16 810 979 21 1,437 1,505 5Fredericton 32 24 -25 40 177 343 72 201 179Greater/Grand Sudbury 28 11 -61 9 6 -33 37 17 -54Guelph 6 4 -33 4 8 100 10 12 20Halifax 58 81 40 107 471 340 165 552 235Hamilton 78 29 -63 50 58 16 128 87 -32Kamloops 10 6 -40 60 2 -97 70 8 -89Kelowna 33 20 -39 19 162 ## 52 182 250Kingston 22 42 91 167 56 -66 189 98 -48Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo 24 90 275 288 41 -86 312 131 -58Lethbridge 19 30 58 6 0 -100 25 30 20London 44 26 -41 472 163 -65 516 189 -63Moncton 26 22 -15 244 94 -61 270 116 -57Montréal 122 161 32 1,270 2,681 111 1,392 2,842 104Nanaimo 23 14 -39 7 20 186 30 34 13Oshawa 39 26 -33 8 36 350 47 62 32Ottawa-Gatineau 179 201 12 1,186 709 -40 1,365 910 -33Gatineau 59 31 -47 670 102 -85 729 133 -82Ottawa 120 170 42 516 607 18 636 777 22Peterborough 8 7 -13 15 0 -100 23 7 -70Québec 59 62 5 366 984 169 425 1,046 146Red Deer 9 21 133 4 1 -75 13 22 69Regina 41 44 7 102 114 12 143 158 10Saguenay 9 14 56 289 43 -85 298 57 -81St. Catharines-Niagara 31 41 32 60 99 65 91 140 54Saint John 20 26 30 6 16 167 26 42 62St. John's 47 56 19 55 25 -55 102 81 -21Saskatoon 127 183 44 128 331 159 255 514 102Sherbrooke 19 22 16 334 105 -69 353 127 -64Thunder Bay 14 3 -79 72 12 -83 86 15 -83Toronto 533 327 -39 1,956 1,118 -43 2,489 1,445 -42Trois-Rivières 14 8 -43 23 217 ## 37 225 ##Vancouver 175 244 39 2,366 1,384 -42 2,541 1,628 -36Victoria 31 27 -13 262 331 26 293 358 22Windsor 57 24 -58 94 32 -66 151 56 -63Winnipeg 138 188 36 515 203 -61 653 391 -40Total 3,446 3,238 -6 13,663 13,623 0 17,109 16,861 -1
1Data 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
SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
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