Homebuilding gathers pace in welcome boost for Carney government
Housing starts across the country spiked by 30% last month compared with March, a much bigger jump than expected in a boost to the home construction and supply outlook.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said on Thursday that the seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of starts hit 278,606 units in April, surpassing economists’ expectations of 227,500 starts.
For March, the SAAR was revised to 214,205 units, meaning April was the first month of the year when housing starts increased. In January, the six-month trend in housing starts was 239,322 units, falling to 229,030 units the following month.
Centres with a population of 10,000 or greater saw actual housing starts increase 17% year over year – the highest actual housing starts for April on record, according to CMHC.
Starts in Ontario and BC were down compared with the same time last year, although Quebec and the Prairie provinces posted a significant increase. Montreal saw actual housing starts surge by 64%, mainly thanks to multi-unit starts, while Vancouver recorded a milder increase of 6%.
In Toronto, housing starts plunged by 25%, largely driven by a decrease in multi-unit starts as fears continue to mount over the fate of the city’s condo market.
Kevin Hughes, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, highlighted the potential impact of economic storm clouds on starts in the months ahead. “The current economic uncertainty will have consequences for the supply and demand of new housing,” he said.
The six-month trend in #HousingStarts increased 2.4% in April to 241K units.
— CMHC (@CMHC_ca) May 15, 2025
The total monthly SAAR for all areas in Canada also increased 30% to 279K units compared to March.
Let’s break down what this means for Canada’s new housing supply. ⬇️
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Higher pace of housing starts good news for Ottawa government
Despite the gloomy Toronto outlook, April’s figures will be welcomed by Mark Carney’s new government in Ottawa – although the current pace of homebuilding remains well below the levels CMHC says are needed to restore housing affordability across the country by 2030.
Carney’s election campaign included pledges to turbocharge homebuilding across the country and deliver 500,000 new homes through a new entity called Build Canada Homes (BCH).
That government-led organization, according to the Liberal platform, will focus on building affordable housing, supporting a new housing industry, and offering financing for builders of affordable homes.
In 2023, CMHC said about 3.5 million extra housing units were required by 2030 to improve the affordability outlook for Canadians, with Ontario and British Columbia seeing the biggest housing supply gaps. Alberta and Quebec, the agency said, are also likely to need a boost in inventory as their populations grow.
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