The trend in housing starts was 213,144 units in August 2020, up from 204,597 units in July 2020, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.
“The national trend in housing starts increased for a third consecutive month in August,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Higher multi-family starts in Ontario, including Toronto, drove the national increase. We expect national starts to trend lower by the end of 2020 as a result of the negative impact of COVID-19 on economic and housing indicators.”
CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of Canada’s housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as they are largely driven by the multi-unit segment of the market which can vary significantly from one month to the next.
The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 262,396 units in August, an increase of 6.9% from 245,425 units in July. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 7.1% in August to 248,154 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 9.1% to 201,214 units in August while single-detached urban starts decreased by 1.0% to 46,940 units.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14,242 units.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French through the CMHC website and through CMHC’s Housing Market Information Portal.
The monthly release of our Preliminary Housing Starts data will continue as planned. CMHC will report any impact on our ability to collect housing data.
As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.
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| Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2019 | August 2020 | % | August 2019 | August 2020 | % | August 2019 | August 2020 | % | |
| Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||
| N.-L. | 49 | 71 | 45 | 26 | 6 | -77 | 75 | 77 | 3 |
| P.E.I. | 17 | 25 | 47 | 49 | 144 | 194 | 66 | 169 | 156 |
| N.S. | 176 | 150 | -15 | 221 | 135 | -39 | 397 | 285 | -28 |
| N.B. | 101 | 78 | -23 | 231 | 290 | 26 | 332 | 368 | 11 |
| Atlantic | 343 | 324 | -6 | 527 | 575 | 9 | 870 | 899 | 3 |
| Qc | 440 | 438 | 0 | 2,632 | 3,186 | 21 | 3,072 | 3,624 | 18 |
| Ont. | 2,238 | 2,047 | -9 | 5,240 | 7,841 | 50 | 7,478 | 9,888 | 32 |
| Man. | 174 | 163 | -6 | 320 | 215 | -33 | 494 | 378 | -23 |
| Sask. | 92 | 85 | -8 | 147 | 147 | – | 239 | 232 | -3 |
| Alta. | 961 | 701 | -27 | 1,647 | 1,052 | -36 | 2,608 | 1,753 | -33 |
| Prairies | 1,227 | 949 | -23 | 2,114 | 1,414 | -33 | 3,341 | 2,363 | -29 |
| B.C. | 662 | 629 | -5 | 2,290 | 2,970 | 30 | 2,952 | 3,599 | 22 |
| Canada (10,000+) | 4,910 | 4,387 | -11 | 12,803 | 15,986 | 25 | 17,713 | 20,373 | 15 |
| Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||
| Abbotsford-Mission | 28 | 35 | 25 | 69 | 89 | 29 | 97 | 124 | 28 |
| Barrie | 45 | 69 | 53 | 29 | 4 | -86 | 74 | 73 | -1 |
| Belleville | 50 | 40 | -20 | 23 | 5 | -78 | 73 | 45 | -38 |
| Brantford | 55 | 146 | 165 | 14 | 56 | 300 | 69 | 202 | 193 |
| Calgary | 337 | 211 | -37 | 714 | 525 | -26 | 1,051 | 736 | -30 |
| Edmonton | 440 | 371 | -16 | 812 | 454 | -44 | 1,252 | 825 | -34 |
| Greater Sudbury | 29 | 23 | -21 | 22 | 12 | -45 | 51 | 35 | -31 |
| Guelph | 39 | 19 | -51 | 186 | 0 | -100 | 225 | 19 | -92 |
| Halifax | 119 | 84 | -29 | 203 | 106 | -48 | 322 | 190 | -41 |
| Hamilton | 147 | 77 | -48 | 68 | 235 | 246 | 215 | 312 | 45 |
| Kelowna | 33 | 45 | 36 | 441 | 158 | -64 | 474 | 203 | -57 |
| Kingston | 46 | 21 | -54 | 222 | 62 | -72 | 268 | 83 | -69 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 70 | 97 | 39 | 772 | 103 | -87 | 842 | 200 | -76 |
| Lethbridge | 36 | 31 | -14 | 14 | 5 | -64 | 50 | 36 | -28 |
| London | 164 | 168 | 2 | 419 | 68 | -84 | 583 | 236 | -60 |
| Moncton | 32 | 16 | -50 | 120 | 127 | 6 | 152 | 143 | -6 |
| Montréal | 172 | 170 | -1 | 1,859 | 1,984 | 7 | 2,031 | 2,154 | 6 |
| Oshawa | 70 | 71 | 1 | 29 | 647 | ## | 99 | 718 | ## |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | 302 | 304 | 1 | 398 | 1,472 | 270 | 700 | 1,776 | 154 |
| Gatineau | 45 | 8 | -82 | 48 | 149 | 210 | 93 | 157 | 69 |
| Ottawa | 257 | 296 | 15 | 350 | 1,323 | 278 | 607 | 1,619 | 167 |
| Peterborough | 42 | 31 | -26 | 13 | 68 | 423 | 55 | 99 | 80 |
| Québec | 44 | 60 | 36 | 463 | 721 | 56 | 507 | 781 | 54 |
| Regina | 28 | 19 | -32 | 5 | 63 | ## | 33 | 82 | 148 |
| Saguenay | 29 | 15 | -48 | 10 | 2 | -80 | 39 | 17 | -56 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara | 121 | 101 | -17 | 137 | 102 | -26 | 258 | 203 | -21 |
| Saint John | 20 | 14 | -30 | 43 | 24 | -44 | 63 | 38 | -40 |
| St. John’s | 36 | 61 | 69 | 16 | 4 | -75 | 52 | 65 | 25 |
| Saskatoon | 59 | 58 | -2 | 111 | 51 | -54 | 170 | 109 | -36 |
| Sherbrooke | 14 | 24 | 71 | 34 | 120 | 253 | 48 | 144 | 200 |
| Thunder Bay | 17 | 5 | -71 | 4 | 0 | -100 | 21 | 5 | -76 |
| Toronto | 557 | 491 | -12 | 2,574 | 4,752 | 85 | 3,131 | 5,243 | 67 |
| Trois-Rivières | 12 | 12 | – | 17 | 12 | -29 | 29 | 24 | -17 |
| Vancouver | 326 | 312 | -4 | 1,356 | 2,208 | 63 | 1,682 | 2,520 | 50 |
| Victoria | 56 | 43 | -23 | 83 | 181 | 118 | 139 | 224 | 61 |
| Windsor | 62 | 55 | -11 | 77 | 113 | 47 | 139 | 168 | 21 |
| Winnipeg | 142 | 129 | -9 | 256 | 198 | -23 | 398 | 327 | -18 |
| Total | 3,779 | 3,428 | -9 | 11,613 | 14,731 | 27 | 15,392 | 18,159 | 18 |
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions.
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value
| Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2020 | August 2020 | % | July 2020 | August 2020 | % | July 2020 | August 2020 | % | |
| Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||
| N.L. | 478 | 609 | 27 | 143 | 72 | -50 | 621 | 681 | 10 |
| P.E.I. | 222 | 247 | 11 | 168 | 1,728 | ## | 390 | 1,975 | 406 |
| N.S. | 1,465 | 1,466 | 0 | 5,874 | 1,558 | -73 | 7,339 | 3,024 | -59 |
| N.B. | 532 | 571 | 7 | 6,082 | 3,477 | -43 | 6,614 | 4,048 | -39 |
| Qc | 7,220 | 6,343 | -12 | 50,872 | 50,236 | -1 | 58,092 | 56,579 | -3 |
| Ont. | 20,979 | 21,116 | 1 | 61,627 | 92,006 | 49 | 82,606 | 113,122 | 37 |
| Man. | 1,835 | 1,698 | -7 | 4,356 | 2,580 | -41 | 6,191 | 4,278 | -31 |
| Sask. | 1,015 | 904 | -11 | 6,840 | 1,764 | -74 | 7,855 | 2,668 | -66 |
| Alta. | 6,941 | 7,068 | 2 | 15,087 | 12,147 | -19 | 22,028 | 19,215 | -13 |
| B.C. | 6,726 | 6,918 | 3 | 33,330 | 35,646 | 7 | 40,056 | 42,564 | 6 |
| Canada (10,000+) | 47,413 | 46,940 | -1 | 184,379 | 201,214 | 9 | 231,792 | 248,154 | 7 |
| Canada (All Areas) | 57,374 | 57,234 | 0 | 188,053 | 205,161 | 9 | 245,425 | 262,396 | 7 |
| Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||
| Abbotsford-Mission | 293 | 363 | 24 | 192 | 1,068 | 456 | 485 | 1,431 | 195 |
| Barrie | 218 | 409 | 88 | 192 | 48 | -75 | 410 | 457 | 11 |
| Belleville | 503 | 378 | -25 | 96 | 60 | -38 | 599 | 438 | -27 |
| Brantford | 444 | 844 | 90 | 516 | 672 | 30 | 960 | 1,516 | 58 |
| Calgary | 2,764 | 2,386 | -14 | 5,952 | 6,300 | 6 | 8,716 | 8,686 | 0 |
| Edmonton | 3,476 | 3,842 | 11 | 7,284 | 5,448 | -25 | 10,760 | 9,290 | -14 |
| Greater Sudbury | 100 | 145 | 45 | 144 | 144 | – | 244 | 289 | 18 |
| Guelph | 229 | 191 | -17 | 0 | 0 | – | 229 | 191 | -17 |
| Halifax | 992 | 783 | -21 | 5,676 | 1,272 | -78 | 6,668 | 2,055 | -69 |
| Hamilton | 366 | 659 | 80 | 6,564 | 2,820 | -57 | 6,930 | 3,479 | -50 |
| Kelowna | 390 | 733 | 88 | 3,072 | 1,896 | -38 | 3,462 | 2,629 | -24 |
| Kingston | 230 | 200 | -13 | 984 | 744 | -24 | 1,214 | 944 | -22 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 1,306 | 1,386 | 6 | 948 | 1,236 | 30 | 2,254 | 2,622 | 16 |
| Lethbridge | 208 | 305 | 47 | 936 | 60 | -94 | 1,144 | 365 | -68 |
| London | 1,905 | 1,527 | -20 | 1,308 | 816 | -38 | 3,213 | 2,343 | -27 |
| Moncton | 154 | 128 | -17 | 4,440 | 1,524 | -66 | 4,594 | 1,652 | -64 |
| Montréal | 2,558 | 2,438 | -5 | 33,109 | 24,769 | -25 | 35,667 | 27,207 | -24 |
| Oshawa | 574 | 803 | 40 | 1,032 | 7,764 | ## | 1,606 | 8,567 | 433 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | 3,556 | 2,976 | -16 | 7,104 | 17,664 | 149 | 10,660 | 20,640 | 94 |
| Gatineau | 550 | 71 | -87 | 2,100 | 1,788 | -15 | 2,650 | 1,859 | -30 |
| Ottawa | 3,006 | 2,905 | -3 | 5,004 | 15,876 | 217 | 8,010 | 18,781 | 134 |
| Peterborough | 188 | 222 | 18 | 24 | 816 | ## | 212 | 1,038 | 390 |
| Québec | 1,009 | 909 | -10 | 5,712 | 8,652 | 51 | 6,721 | 9,561 | 42 |
| Regina | 232 | 185 | -20 | 672 | 756 | 13 | 904 | 941 | 4 |
| Saguenay | 287 | 139 | -52 | 552 | 24 | -96 | 839 | 163 | -81 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara | 1,181 | 1,112 | -6 | 1,860 | 1,224 | -34 | 3,041 | 2,336 | -23 |
| Saint John | 140 | 119 | -15 | 936 | 288 | -69 | 1,076 | 407 | -62 |
| St. John’s | 404 | 530 | 31 | 120 | 48 | -60 | 524 | 578 | 10 |
| Saskatoon | 770 | 660 | -14 | 5,976 | 612 | -90 | 6,746 | 1,272 | -81 |
| Sherbrooke | 589 | 645 | 10 | 744 | 1,440 | 94 | 1,333 | 2,085 | 56 |
| Thunder Bay | 79 | 32 | -59 | 72 | 0 | -100 | 151 | 32 | -79 |
| Toronto | 6,659 | 5,016 | -25 | 41,628 | 57,024 | 37 | 48,287 | 62,040 | 28 |
| Trois-Rivières | 235 | 237 | 1 | 672 | 144 | -79 | 907 | 381 | -58 |
| Vancouver | 3,236 | 3,258 | 1 | 21,168 | 26,496 | 25 | 24,404 | 29,754 | 22 |
| Victoria | 771 | 560 | -27 | 3,396 | 2,172 | -36 | 4,167 | 2,732 | -34 |
| Windsor | 433 | 529 | 22 | 540 | 1,356 | 151 | 973 | 1,885 | 94 |
| Winnipeg | 1,435 | 1,336 | -7 | 4,092 | 2,376 | -42 | 5,527 | 3,712 | -33 |
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions.
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
## not calculable / extreme value