Ontario Construction Report staff writer
Canada’s housing construction sector slowed in July, with the annualized pace of housing starts falling five per cent from June as activity varied sharply among major markets.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 229,074 housing starts in July, down from 240,773 in June. The six-month moving average slipped 0.5 per cent to 247,377 units.
Actual urban housing starts in centres with populations of 10,000 or more totalled 18,834 units in July, down 19 per cent from 23,155 in July 2025.
The national figures masked significant differences among major markets.
Vancouver recorded a 42 per cent year-over-year decline in actual urban housing starts, while Toronto was down 10 per cent. Montreal posted a three per cent increase, driven by higher multi-unit construction, and Ottawa-Gatineau saw starts rise 42 per cent from a year earlier.
Calgary also recorded weaker activity, with its monthly annualized pace down 20 per cent.
CMHC said the number of units with approved building permits that had not yet started construction rose three per cent to 141,480 nationally.
At the same time, housing completions increased 8.1 per cent from June to 19,773 units in July, suggesting projects already underway continued to move toward completion even as fewer new projects broke ground.
“July’s results show that housing starts are continuing to moderate and new home construction in Canada is evolving as per CMHC’s recent Housing Market Outlook Summer Update,” Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
CMHC’s 2026 Housing Market Outlook has projected continued softness in housing markets as economic uncertainty weighs on builder confidence and buyer demand.
July figures suggest the slowdown is not being felt evenly across the country, with some major markets recording significant declines while others continue to see growth, particularly in multi-unit construction.