Housing starts in Canada’s largest markets jumped 14% year-over-year as multi-unit projects drove activity, says a new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report.

Vancouver led the way with a whopping 74% increase to 23,282 from June 2024, while Montreal saw an 8% year-over-year increase. But Toronto saw a 40% drop from a year earlier.

On a six-month basis, housing starts in the country’s largest cities rose 3.6% to 253,081 units.

The figures are actual housing starts. CMHC also compiles seasonally-adjusted figures.

On a six-month basis, seasonally-adjusted basis housing starts were flat, rising a marginal 0.4%.

Kevin Hughes, a CMHC deputy chief economist, said new-home construction varies significantly across Canada. Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have accelerated the pace of purpose-built rentals and single-family homes. But weak condominium market conditions in Toronto and Vancouver contributed to overall year-over-year-declines during the first half of 2025.

Photo: Shutterstock

Toronto and Vancouver experienced 18% and 11% declines, respectively.