Canada recorded a total of 259,028 housing starts during 2025, up by 5.6% from the 245,367 recorded in 2024. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), last year’s housing starts total was the fifth highest annual number on record.
Housing starts in centers of 10,000 population and over were up 6%, with 241,171 units recorded, compared to 227,697 in 2024. CMHC said those increases were driven by a second consecutive year of record rental housing starts which made up just over half of all housing starts in the nation’s urban centers.
Canada’s six largest Census Metropolitan Areas saw a combined 3.9% year-over-year increase from 2024, driven by record annual starts in Calgary and Edmonton, a 58% year-over-year increase in annual starts in Montréal, and a 12% increase in Ottawa-Gatineau. Those results compensated for year-over-year decreases in Toronto (-31%) and Vancouver (-3%).
“While housing starts in 2025 finished ahead of 2024 and inched up in December, most of the momentum in housing construction occurred in the spring and summer,” said Mathieu Laberge, chief economist and senior vice president of housing insights at CMHC. “Since September, the trend in housing starts has consistently decreased. In 2025, economic uncertainty and the diminished viability of large residential towers encouraged a shift towards smaller-scale project. As such, housing starts are beginning this year from a weaker position and market intelligence suggests slowing momentum for residential construction. These trends, along with geopolitical and trade uncertainty, remain top of mind as we expect to release an updated Housing Market Outlook in February.”
CMHC also reported the total monthly housing starts last month was 282,439 units, up by 11% from November’s 254,625 units.
