CMHC says housing starts rose 5.6% in 2025 but still ‘far from the target’

An aerial view shows carpenters building a log home made from white pine in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Housing starts in Canada rose 5.6 per cent in 2025, boosted by new rental housing construction, but the figure was still far short of what the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says is needed to make housing more affordable.

Mathieu Laberge, CMHC’s chief economist and senior vice-president of housing insights for the agency...