New Home Construction Statistics in Canada

Canada’s new home construction market has experienced fluctuation in recent years. It has been affected by the global pandemic and more recently with higher interest rates, labour shortages, and rising construction costs. At the same time, with an increasing population, there is strong demand for housing. 

In this article, we explore the statistics around new home construction in Canada. You will find details on current and historical new home construction, regional variations, and challenges facing the construction of new homes in Canada. 

New Home Construction Statistics for Canadians

• The value of new residential building permits reached approximately $13.8 billion in October 2025.
• Housing starts in Canada reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 255,700 units in September 2025.
• Regionally, Toronto and Vancouver have seen the biggest increases in new home starts in recent years. 
• The number of new detached homes being built fell by approximately 15% in Canada in 2024. 
• The number of multi-unit buildings being constructed in Canada increased by 6% in 2024. 
•  In the final quarter of 2024, construction costs in the residential building sector increased by around 0.9%.
• The construction industry is expected to need around 353,000 workers by 2034.

Building Permits in Canada

According to Statistics Canada, the total value of residential building permits in October 2025 grew to about $8.6 billion, with multi-family components contributing the largest share. 

The growth in the residential sector was driven by the highest levels of multi-unit building construction on record. Building permits for multi-units increased by 32.6%, totalling $5.4 billion. At the same time, the value of permits for single-family detached homes totalled $2.6 billion after 2.4% growth. 

British Columbia led the growth in the value of permits for multi-unit components. The value increased by approximately 46% or about $620 million and reached around $2.0 billion in October 2025. This was the new record, surpassing September 2024 when the value reached approximately $1.6 billion. Ontario saw the next biggest growth of around 34% or roughly $870 million. The growth in Ontario was driven by multi-unit construction in the biggest cities.

Across the country, only 4,400 new single-family detached homes were authorised in May 2025 compared to 21,000 permits for multi-unit dwellings. This was one of the highest monthly totals on record in Canada, with Ontario recording the largest share of permits, with around 7,500 new multi-unit buildings authorised in May.

New Home Starts in Canada

The beginning of 2025 saw some decline in the number of new home starts. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) on new home starts experienced a 9% decrease in October 2025 compared to September 2025, with approximately 232,765 units in October and around 255,700 units in September.

However, the number of house starts was up by about 9.4% in November 2025 compared to October 2025, with approximately 254,058 units and 232,765 units, respectively. Over the previous six months, the number of home construction starts increased by around 4%, despite the decline earlier in the year.

Housing Starts in 2024

In 2024, the total number of housing starts in Canada was approximately 255,000. This represented a slight decrease of around 1–2% compared to the 2023 total of about 260,000 units. 2023 had previously seen a modest increase of roughly 2% compared to 2022, when approximately 255,000 housing starts were recorded.

Regional Variations

There are significant regional variations in the new home construction market in Canada. These variations are driven by demographic trends, diverse economic conditions, and local policies across the provinces and territories. 

In Ontario, especially in the Greater Toronto Area, demand for homes outstrips the supply because of the rapid increase in population. In 2024, there was a more modest increase of around 4% in housing starts compared to 2023. This increase was largely due to the increased demand for multi-unit residential buildings such as apartment complexes and condominiums. There is a similar situation in British Columbia where the Vancouver metropolitan area has seen robust housing construction activity. In September 2025, the number of housing starts was up by approximately 6% compared to September 2024 driven by the construction of multi-unit buildings. 

In Quebec, the situation has been quite different with a decline of around 3% in new home starts in late 2024 compared to late 2023. This is mainly because there are fewer multi-unit developments being built in the province. However, Quebec is focusing on creating more affordable housing projects to provide homes for the province’s growing population and address the home shortage in urban areas.

Among the Prairie provinces, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have experienced continued moderate growth in the number of new homes. Meanwhile, Alberta has seen stronger fluctuations in the number of housing starts because of the impact the fluctuating energy prices and employment levels have on the province’s housing market, with notable increases recorded through parts of 2024 and 2025.

Atlantic Canada has a smaller housing market and it is less prone to fluctuations than other Canadian regions. However, there has been growing construction activity in cities such as Halifax because of urbanisation and population growth and the region has seen steady year-on-year growth in housing starts through 2024 and into 2025.

Types of New Homes

There has been a noticeable decline in the construction of single-family detached homes in Canada. This is largely because of the higher interest rates leading to affordability issues. In 2024, the number of new detached houses being built in Canada fell by approximately 15%.

In contrast, the number of new multi-unit buildings housing condos has risen in Canada, especially in large metropolitan areas. In 2024, the number of multi-unit properties increased by around 6% across the country. 

What Factors Influence National New Home Construction Trends?

There are a range of factors that influence the construction of new homes in Canada such as economic conditions, market dynamics, and government policies. One of the main factors is the economic conditions including economic conditions and economic growth. For example, when the interest rates are lower, borrowing is cheaper and stimulates the demand for new homes. 

Another economic factor that affects the rate new homes are built is the general economic health of a country. When the economy is strong and unemployment rates are low, it increases consumer confidence and purchasing power, which leads to a higher demand for new homes. In contrast, high unemployment rates generally reduce demand as consumers have to be more cautious about borrowing large amounts of money. 

Market dynamics, referring to factors such as demographic trends and consumer preferences will also have an impact on the construction of new homes. For example, Canada has a growing population which increases the demand for new homes, especially in urban areas, while changing household sizes affect the types of new homes needed. 

In addition, government policies and regulations are also likely to influence the building of new homes. For instance, the federal and provincial governments have created incentives to simulate the building of new homes and the CMHC has programmes to support the development of affordable housing, while tax incentives for developers can encourage more new building work. 

Increased Construction Costs

One of the main challenges to the construction of new homes in Canada is the rising cost of building materials. According to a report from the first quarter of 2025, the construction costs were still rising but they rose at a slower pace than in previous years. In the final quarter of 2024, construction costs in the residential building sector increased by around 0.9% and then by approximately 0.6% in the first quarter of 2025.

The year-over-year construction costs in the residential sector were up by about 4.8% in the first quarter of 2025. The costs increased more than in the non-residential sector where the rise was around 4.2%. The residential construction costs rose the most in Halifax, where they increased by approximately 7.4%.

Halifax also experienced the highest quarterly increase together with Calgary. In both regions, the quarterly increase in construction costs was around 1.5%. The smallest increase was in Ottawa, where the residential construction costs increased by approximately 0.2% only.

According to Statistics Canada, the cost of building a detached house rose by around 0.8% and the cost of building townhouses by approximately 0.6%. Across the different residential construction divisions the cost of masonry and earthworks increased the most, both by around 2.0%, in the first quarter of 2025. There were two divisions where the costs went down: conveying equipment by approximately 0.2% and electrical by around 0.1%.

Labour Shortages

Another challenge the construction industry needs to deal with is labour shortages. The construction industry is expected to need around 353,000 workers by 2034. This number will be needed to fill the vacancies created by approximately 265,000 workers retiring (about 22% of the industry’s current labour force) and by growing demand creating an additional 88,000–90,000 vacancies. It is estimated that there will be a gap of around 85,000–90,000 workers by the mid-2030s.

One of the ways to address labour shortages within the construction industry is to diversify the workforce. There were about 215,000 women working in the industry in 2024 with only around 29% of them working on construction sites. In total, women accounted for only approximately 6% of the workforce on building sites.

Another under-represented group in the Canadian construction industry are the Indigenous Peoples. In 2022, they represented around 5.2% of the construction labour force in Canada. However, this is slightly higher than the approximately 4.3% across the overall labour force. Recruiting more women and Indigenous People would help to fill the gap in the labour force. 

Conclusion

The number of new homes built in Canada fluctuates from year to year because the industry is heavily affected by a wide range of factors including cost of materials, labour shortages, interest rates, and building regulations. Over the years, the type of new homes being built has also changed in Canada because of demographic changes and urbanisation. 

Despite the challenges facing the new home construction sector, there is rising demand for new homes, especially affordable ones in urban areas. To support the building of new homes and help people to get on the property ladder, the federal and provincial governments offer incentives ranging from the development of affordable housing to tax incentives.