OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts for April rose 17 per cent compared with March.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing stats came in at 279,317 units for April, up from 239,747 units in March.

The annual pace of rural starts was estimated at 13,694 units for April.

The six-moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 256,777 units, up 3.2 per cent from March.

CMHC says the increase came as actual housing starts in centres with a population of 10,000 or greater totalled 21,805 units in April, down from 21,938 units in April 2025.

The agency says the year-to-date total was 71,011 units, up six per cent from the same period in 2025, driven by higher starts in B.C. and Ontario.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2026.

The Canadian Press