The construction boom in Canada the most needed city is missing

Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary

2021/10/04

Housing starts ↑ 12% or > 30K-unit since 2019, about three-quarters of which are apartments. RBC believes as many as 240K-units could be completed nationwide in 2022. Smaller markets, such as rural and smaller urban areas, are the first to see the pick-up in pace. Toronto didn’t contribute to the supply surge, and its housing starts only ↑ 1.4% or 500-units compared to the 2015-2019 avg. While the construction ramp-up in Vancouver ↑ 10.3%, Calgary ↑ 7.2%, and Edmonton ↑ 4.1%, the rates still fall below the national avg of 26%. Given the high-cost construction that demands higher prices once they hit the market, it’s unlikely to fill the gap for modest-income Canadians.