Housing starts for January 2026

Ottawa, February 16, 2026

The six-month trend in housing starts decreased (3.5%) in January (254,794 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 1% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 16,088 units recorded in January, compared to 15,957 units in January 2025.

The total monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was down 15% in January (238,049 units) compared to December (280,668 units).

Quote:

“While actual starts in January were flat, the six-month trend has decreased for the fourth consecutive month, which is in line with recent signs of slowing momentum in residential construction,” said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s Deputy Chief Economist. We expect new construction to continue trending lower going forward as trade and geopolitical uncertainty, high construction costs, weaker demand, and rising inventories continue to constrain developer activity. As a result, near-term improvements in housing supply are unlikely, reflecting the on-the-ground sentiments we’ve heard from developers over the past several months.”

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 20,485 units.
Among Canada’s big three cities, Vancouver recorded a 37% increase in actual starts due to higher multi-unit and single-detached starts. Toronto declined 2% due to lower single-detached starts. Montreal posted a 44% year-over-year decrease this month, driven by lower multi-unit and single-detached starts.
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 February housing starts data on March 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 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 home ownership 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.

Information on this release:

To request an interview with a CMHC economist, contact:
Media Relations, CMHC
media@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

January housing starts in Canada — all areas

Housing Start — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates — 6 Month Moving Average (Trend) (Provinces — 10,000+)
January 2026
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%
N.L.	740	755	2	449	446	-1	1,189	1,200	1
P.E.I.	348	320	-8	998	790	-21	1,346	1,110	-18
N.S.	1,606	1,601	0	7,653	5,667	-26	9,259	7,268	-22
N.B.	1,091	1,154	6	5,863	5,198	-11	6,953	6,352	-9
Qc	4,871	4,916	1	49,560	47,040	-5	54,431	51,956	-5
Ont.	9,945	10,144	2	57,380	55,616	-3	67,324	65,760	-2
Man.	2,214	2,105	-5	5,908	5,696	-4	8,122	7,801	-4
Sask.	1,865	1,950	5	3,698	3,372	-9	5,563	5,322	-4
Alta.	13,808	13,243	-4	35,804	35,579	-1	49,612	48,822	-2
B.C.	4,300	4,449	3	37,729	37,115	-2	42,028	41,564	-1
Canada (10,000+)	40,786	40,637	0	205,042	196,519	-4	245,828	237,155	-4
Canada (All Areas)	51,017	50,741	-1	213,083	204,054	-4	264,098	254,794	-4

Data based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC

Housing Start — Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates — 6 Month Moving Average (Trend)
(Metropolitan Areas)
January 2026
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Dec. 2025	Jan. 2026	%
Abbotsford – Mission	183	181	-1	1,502	1,154	-23	1,685	1,335	-21
Barrie	194	186	-4	914	292	-68	1,108	478	-57
Belleville – Quinte West	172	160	-7	568	402	-29	740	562	-24
Brantford	282	314	11	592	1,018	72	874	1,332	52
Calgary	5,937	5,840	-2	19,664	20,338	3	25,601	26,178	2
Chilliwack	130	138	6	432	414	-4	562	552	-2
Drummondville	204	223	9	1,366	1,294	-5	1,570	1,517	-3
Edmonton	5,937	5,606	-6	14,610	13,094	-10	20,547	18,700	-9
Fredericton	324	333	3	1,440	1,170	-19	1,764	1,503	-15
Greater / Grand Sudbury	113	105	-7	344	306	-11	457	411	-10
Guelph	31	32	3	506	448	-11	537	480	-11
Halifax	843	868	3	6,454	4,666	-28	7,297	5,534	-24
Hamilton	361	344	-5	4,074	2,592	-36	4,435	2,936	-34
Kamloops	89	112	26	450	898	100	539	1,010	87
Kelowna	248	257	4	1,318	1,348	2	1,566	1,605	2
Kingston	235	342	46	332	324	-2	567	666	17
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	572	579	1	5,588	5,230	-6	6,160	5,809	-6
Lethbridge	364	336	-8	118	114	-3	482	450	-7
London	387	385	-1	4,224	4,222	0	4,611	4,607	0
Moncton	328	360	10	2,790	2,420	-13	3,118	2,780	-11
Montréal	1,479	1,487	1	28,742	26,963	-6	30,221	28,451	-6
Nanaimo	110	104	-5	362	364	1	472	467	-1
Oshawa	426	555	30	932	818	-12	1,358	1,373	1
Ottawa – Gatineau	1,709	1,769	4	11,132	9,418	-15	12,841	11,187	-13
Gatineau	361	356	-1	1,254	1,072	-15	1,615	1,428	-12
Ottawa	1,348	1,413	5	9,878	8,346	-16	11,226	9,759	-13
Peterborough	88	79	-10	28	0	-100	116	79	-32
Québec	665	732	10	6,842	6,020	-12	7,507	6,753	-10
Red Deer	115	91	-21	118	124	5	233	215	-8
Regina	412	478	16	1,040	994	-4	1,452	1,472	1
Saguenay	255	240	-6	706	756	7	961	996	4
St. Catharines – Niagara	502	569	13	2,644	2,380	-10	3,146	2,949	-6
Saint John	275	293	7	598	530	-11	873	823	-6
St. John's	696	697	0	426	406	-5	1,122	1,103	-2
Saskatoon	1,401	1,420	1	2,642	2,358	-11	4,043	3,778	-7
Sherbrooke	243	224	-8	1,740	1,740	-	1,983	1,964	-1
Thunder Bay	78	75	-4	184	292	59	262	367	40
Toronto	2,998	2,991	0	23,440	24,838	6	26,438	27,829	5
Trois-Rivières	159	159	-	1,258	1,252	0	1,417	1,411	0
Vancouver	2,269	2,293	1	26,440	25,818	-2	28,709	28,111	-2
Victoria	333	341	2	4,674	4,352	-7	5,007	4,693	-6
Windsor	300	280	-7	1,332	940	-29	1,632	1,220	-25
Winnipeg	1,874	1,767	-6	4,910	4,754	-3	6,783	6,521	-4

Data based on 2021 Census Definitions.
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC

Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Provinces)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%
N.-L.	31	42	35	22	25	14	53	67	26
P.E.I.	13	13	-	190	87	-54	203	100	-51
N.S.	87	97	11	484	261	-46	571	358	-37
N.B.	33	47	42	44	293	##	77	340	342
Atlantic	164	199	21	740	666	-10	904	865	-4
Qc	243	297	22	3,954	2,526	-36	4,197	2,823	-33
Ont.	550	550	-	3,438	3,905	14	3,988	4,455	12
Man.	148	121	-18	264	152	-42	412	273	-34
Sask.	62	92	48	150	98	-35	212	190	-10
Alta.	972	697	-28	2,345	2,644	13	3,317	3,341	1
Prairies	1,182	910	-23	2,759	2,894	5	3,941	3,804	-3
B.C.	254	276	9	2,673	3,865	45	2,927	4,141	41
Canada (10,000+)	2,393	2,232	-7	13,564	13,856	2	15,957	16,088	1

Data 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 in Centres 10,000 Population and Over (Metropolitan Areas)
	Single-Detached			All Others			Total
	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%	Jan. 2025	Jan. 2026	%
Abbotsford – Mission	10	9	-10	280	24	-91	290	33	-89
Barrie	3	4	33	18	6	-67	21	10	-52
Belleville – Quinte West	6	4	-33	0	4	##	6	8	33
Brantford	11	27	145	242	213	-12	253	240	-5
Calgary	552	415	-25	1,077	1,645	53	1,629	2,060	26
Chilliwack	10	7	-30	4	7	75	14	14	-
Drummondville	10	19	90	18	51	183	28	70	150
Edmonton	332	204	-39	879	778	-11	1,211	982	-19
Fredericton	10	12	20	2	82	##	12	94	##
Greater / Grand Sudbury	2	4	100	0	4	##	2	8	300
Guelph	1	1	-	1	13	##	2	14	##
Halifax	60	57	-5	451	221	-51	511	278	-46
Hamilton	13	18	38	17	152	##	30	170	467
Kamloops	11	21	91	8	398	##	19	419	##
Kelowna	17	18	6	343	185	-46	360	203	-44
Kingston	4	26	##	166	11	-93	170	37	-78
Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo	17	33	94	179	151	-16	196	184	-6
Lethbridge	22	10	-55	103	6	-94	125	16	-87
London	32	26	-19	22	351	##	54	377	##
Moncton	8	9	13	8	150	##	16	159	##
Montréal	101	78	-23	2,439	1,345	-45	2,540	1,423	-44
Nanaimo	4	0	###	0	7	##	4	7	75
Oshawa	6	34	467	0	7	##	6	41	##
Ottawa – Gatineau	103	105	2	685	438	-36	788	543	-31
Gatineau	12	37	208	310	129	-58	322	166	-48
Ottawa	91	68	-25	375	309	-18	466	377	-19
Peterborough	6	2	-67	0	0	-	6	2	-67
Québec	38	54	42	488	228	-53	526	282	-46
Red Deer	16	3	-81	12	6	-50	28	9	-68
Regina	7	21	200	96	19	-80	103	40	-61
Saguenay	9	13	44	48	67	40	57	80	40
St. Catharines – Niagara	28	70	150	83	100	20	111	170	53
Saint John	7	21	200	26	8	-69	33	29	-12
St. John's	30	41	37	22	23	5	52	64	23
Saskatoon	49	65	33	41	77	88	90	142	58
Sherbrooke	8	14	75	53	40	-25	61	54	-11
Thunder Bay	3	1	-67	14	80	471	17	81	376
Toronto	219	152	-31	2,149	2,160	1	2,368	2,312	-2
Trois-Rivières	11	9	-18	40	48	20	51	57	12
Vancouver	141	146	4	1,866	2,603	39	2,007	2,749	37
Victoria	15	19	27	90	388	331	105	407	288
Windsor	13	7	-46	31	8	-74	44	15	-66
Winnipeg	133	110	-17	236	118	-50	369	228	-38
Total	2,078	1,889	-9	12,237	12,222	0	14,315	14,111	-1