January monthly housing starts key highlights:

• The trend in housing starts decreased by 3.5% in January with 254,794 units.
• The trend measure is a 6-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
• Actual housing starts were up 1% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater. 16,088 units were recorded in January 2026, compared to 15,957 units in January 2025.
• Vancouver recorded a 37% increase in actual starts due to higher multi-unit and single-detached starts.
• Toronto declined 2% due to lower single-detached starts.
• Montréal posted a 44% year-over-year decrease this month, driven by lower multi-unit and single-detached starts.

January Standalone Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR):

• The total monthly standalone seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts for all areas in Canada was down 15% in January, at 238,049 units compared to 280,668 units in December. This highlights the volatility of month-over-month starts figures and the caution with which they should be interpreted.
• Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 20,485 units.