Despite apartment boom, housing construction stalls in Canada's major cities

Posted on April 1, 2024   |  

Housing construction in Canada's 6 largest cities saw a sluggish start in 2023, with a notable 20% decline in the construction of single-detached homes compared to the previous year.

Overall, there was a modest 0.5% decrease in housing construction, resulting in 137,915 units built across Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Calgary.

Conversely, apartment construction experienced a 7% increase during this period, reaching a record high of 98,774 units. However, Montreal witnessed an 8-year low in apartment construction.

The majority of new apartment builds were purpose-built rentals, constituting 42% of the total.

Despite the growth in purpose-built rentals, Canada faces the challenge of doubling annual construction to meet the federal government's affordability target by 2030.

To achieve this goal, Canada would need to construct approximately 700,000 new purpose-built rental units annually, a significantly higher figure than the current rate of construction.