February monthly housing starts key highlights:

• The trend in housing starts increased slightly by 0.4% in February with 256,005 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 10% year-over-year in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater. 15, 886 units were recorded in February 2026, compared to 14,420 units in February 2025.
• Vancouver recorded a 60% increase in actual starts due to higher multi-unit and single-detached starts.
• Toronto declined 28% due to lower multi-unit and single-detached starts.
• Montréal posted a 18% year-over-year increase this month, driven by higher multi-unit and single-detached starts.

February Standalone Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR):

• The total monthly standalone seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts for all areas in Canada increased 4.5% in February, at 238,049 units compared to 250,900 units in January. 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 20,400 units.