Canada’s Housing Starts Trend Holds Flat

Canada's 6-mo housing starts trend stayed flat in Late-Q3 at 250.4K units, while total monthly SAAR for all areas ↑3% MoM to 248.9K.
In centres above 10K population, actual Late-Q3 starts totaled 20K units, ↓11% yearly, while the Early-Q1-to-Late-Q3 tally for 2026 reached 171K, ↓4%.
Construction activity stayed steady in larger centres: units under construction were flat MoM at 371.6K, completions ↓~1% to 17.4K, and unstarted permits ↑~1%.
An economist warned Canada's key risk is not building enough during softer market conditions, saying sustained affordability gains since 2023 depend on higher construction levels.
Next national housing-starts data arrives November 17, while rural starts were estimated at 18.1K units in Late-Q3, adding context to Canada's supply picture.