Recent headlines suggest that Toronto’s residential construction activity has plunged, with industry analysts voicing concerns about a potential “collapse” in new housing starts. This anxiety is backed by data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), indicating that housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) dropped by 20 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year. At first glance, this statistic is unsettling, especially when examined in isolation. However, a broader historical perspective reveals a cyclical pattern that slightly tempers this alarming narrative.
The brief below explains the current challenges in construction activity facing headwinds in Canada’s most populous provinces: Ontario and Alberta. It further examines the recent growth in residential construction in British Columbia and Alberta, which also face similar growth-restricting challenges but have been able to expand the construction of residential dwellings.
Toronto’s Construction Decline: An Overstated Concern? by Murtaza Haider