Canada isn’t in a housing slump — Ontario is, RBC analysis shows
The pace of housing construction in Canada is picking up, but the country’s most populous province is pulling down the pace, new analysis shows.
Housing starts have been the strongest ever in Canada in the last four years and remain robust in much of the country this year, said a new report by the Royal Bank of Canada that analyzes the latest housing start numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
However, while the rest of the country saw a bump in housing starts, Ontario saw a steep decline, with the decline centred in the Greater Toronto Area.
“This divergence is concerning, because it threatens to perpetuate severe affordability problems that exert social and economic hardship on Canadians in these regions,” the report by RBC economist Robert Hogue said.
The report said Ontario’s lag in construction was at “the root of the housing crisis” in Canada.
Nationally, Canada saw construction start on 263,000 units in July, a jump of 3.7 per cent compared to the previous month.
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Experts say this is not the case in Toronto.
“High development costs continue to choke new rental supply in Toronto, where housing starts plunged 69 per cent in July compared with a year earlier and are down 49 per cent year-over-year. Without policy reform, the downward spiral is likely to continue,” said Nicole Lechter, senior real estate analyst at RSM Canada.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Atlantic Canada all saw higher housing starts. While B.C. saw some moderation, it is not as stark as it is in Ontario, the RBC report said.
“Ontario’s six-month average has fallen to the lowest level in a decade — trending in the opposite direction of what’s needed to achieve the provincial government’s ambitious goal of building 1.5 million new homes over 10 years,” Hogue said in his report.
“It’s a similar, albeit less pronounced, situation in B.C.,” he added.
High development and construction costs were to blame for Ontario’s slow pace of housing starts, the report said.
“Builders saw a rapid escalation of expenses for land, labour, and materials, compounded by municipal development charges and other fees in the past several years,” it said.
Ontario’s housing slump is exacerbated by the slowing pace of condo construction, which has “plummeted with no end in sight.”
“The full impact of the current slowdown in housing starts won’t be felt for years in Ontario. It can take two, three or more years to complete a large multi-unit project once the foundation has been poured,” the report said.
“Indeed, the GTA market is still absorbing the wave of condo units completed in 2024 started during the pandemic or even earlier.”
The ripple effects of the current downturn will be felt well into next year, the report said.
“The downturn in Ontario’s housing construction pipeline could have dire consequences for 2026 and beyond if not addressed.”
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Spirits maker Diageo will cease operations at its bottling facility in Amherstburg, Ont., early next year, as it shifts some bottling volume to the U.S., the company announced on Thursday.
The facility, which bottles Crown Royal products, will close in February in a move aimed at improving its North American supply chain.
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About 200 jobs will be affected.
“This was a difficult decision, but one that is crucial to improving the efficiency and resiliency of our supply chain network,” Marsha McIntosh, Diageo’s president of North America supply, said in a statement.
Diageo said it will engage with the community and find ways to support its employees through the transition, and work alongside Unifor to assist unionized workers.
The company said it will still maintain a “significant” footprint in Canada — including its headquarters and warehouse operations in the Greater Toronto Area, and bottling and distillation facilities in Manitoba and Quebec.
McIntosh added the company’s Crown Royal products will continue to be mashed, distilled and aged at its Canadian facilities.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Toronto police say a 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking two men with his car Wednesday evening.
Officers say they responded to reports of a collision in the area of Don Mills Road and Gateway Boulevard in the city’s North York neighbourhood just before 10:30 p.m.
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Police say two men got into an argument, leading to one man getting into his car and hitting the other man with it.
They say the man then put his car into reverse, striking a second man.
A man in his 50s was transported to hospital with serious injuries and the second man, in his 20s, had minor injuries.
Police say the suspect from Markham, Ont., faces several other charges as well, including two counts of assault with a weapon, uttering threats and dangerous driving.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
A court document shows a Lindsay, Ont., man facing charges for allegedly breaking into an apartment was carrying a crossbow when he was confronted by a tenant.
The resident, Jeremy David McDonald, is also facing assault charges in the incident on Aug. 18 — a fact that has generated widespread interest in the case.
Police information filed in court alleges that Michael Kyle Breen damaged a window and screen at McDonald’s home and carried a crossbow.
The court document says the 41-year-old Breen is charged with break and enter, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, mischief under $5,000 and failing to comply with a probation order.
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Police have said that Breen, who is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing next week, was already wanted for unrelated offences.
McDonald, the 44-year-old resident, was charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon after he allegedly “did endanger the life” of Breen.
Premier Doug Ford blasted the decision to charge the apartment resident, saying last week that it shows “something is broken.”
Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Kirk Robertson wrote in a statement Wednesday that he recognizes the incident has generated significant public interest and “emotional” responses, but called some of the reaction “unjust and inaccurate.”
Robertson wrote that individuals have the right to defend themselves and their property, but the law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced.
“This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances,” he wrote.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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