Canadian Housing Starts (August 2026)

Canadian Data Release: Housing starts flatlined in August

• Canadian housing starts came in at 229.0k annualized units in August, essentially unchanged relative to July. However, the six-month moving average of starts dipped 1.3% month-on-month (m/m) to 244.1k units. 
• Urban, multi-family starts dropped 3% m/m in August to 174.0k units. This was offset by a 13% monthly rise in single-detached starts (to 43.8k units).  
• Regionally: 
• Starts climbed 11.1k to 39.7k units in B.C., while advancing 4.6k to 63.7k units in the Prairies (supported by Alberta).
• Starts fell in Ontario (-10.2k to 41.8k units) and the Atlantic (-2.3k to 13.4k units), with the latter owing to broad-based drops across the region.

Key Implications

• With August's unchanged print, starts are down 10% so far in Q3 relative to their second quarter average. This will downwardly pressure the residential investment component of GDP. Looking under the hood, starts are trending at the higher end of historical norms in the Prairies, Quebec, and the Atlantic region, supported by rental construction. Meanwhile, homebuilding is on the downtrend in B.C. (despite today's advance) and is very soft in Ontario.
• The third quarter decline in starts falls in line with our view that homebuilding will trend lower moving forward amid elevated unsold inventories, rising interest rates, past declines in pre-sales in key markets and weak population growth. 
  
   

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