OTTAWA, Ontario – Housing starts nudged up 1.8% from 253,226 units in March to 257,846 units in April, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 

“On a trend and monthly SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rates) basis, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains historically high, hovering well above 200,000 units since June 2020 and increased from March to April,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC's Chief Economist. “The increase in monthly SAAR housing starts in Canada’s urban areas was driven by higher multi-unit and single-detached starts in April. Among Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, Toronto was the only market to post a decrease in total SAAR starts, which was driven by lower multi-unit and single-detached starts.”

In addition to the six-month SAAR moving average, CMHC uses the trend measure of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a clearer picture of the upcoming new housing supply. 
The standalone monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada in April was 267,330 units, an increase of 8% from March. The SAAR of total urban starts increased by 10% to 245,324 units in April. Multi-unit urban starts increased by 14% to 178,092 units, while single-detached urban starts increased by 1% to 67,232 units. Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 22,006 units.