Housing starts in Ottawa down 39 per cent year-over-year in April

Construction workers build new row homes in Ottawa on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Ottawa has seen a slow start to the year when it comes to new housing, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), but more than 17,000 units were still being built.

Data for April was published on Friday, showing housing starts in the capital were down 39 per cent year-over-year when compared to April 2025.

The CMHC said there were 875 housing starts in Ottawa last month, while April 2025 saw 1,437.

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The first four months of the year were also slower than they were last year. There were 3,074 housing starts between Jan. 1 and April 30 this year, a 12 per cent decrease from 2025, which saw 3,500 housing starts in its first four months.

As of the end of April, there were 17,326 units under construction in the city. A total of 837 units were completed last month. There are 3,921 units that have been approved but are not yet under construction.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, the City of Ottawa said there may have been some “hesitation from the development industry to proceed with projects” in April as the federal and Ontario governments announced measures to reduce development charges.

“Of note on the month of April, the federal and provincial announcement on March 30, 2026, regarding an $8.8 billion fund to reduce development charges introduced uncertainty into the market, which may have contributed to some hesitation from the development industry to proceed with projects while details of the program were being finalized,” the city said.

“This uncertainty was addressed through Council’s May 13, 2026, endorsement of the lowest applicable rate during the deferral period, providing greater clarity and certainty for projects moving forward.”

The measures from the federal and Ontario governments included removing the HST for eligible buyers of new homes built in the province.

The city notes there were 9,524 housing starts in Ottawa in 2025, the second-best year on record.

Housing starts in Gatineau were up 66 per cent in the first four months of 2026, with 1,148 starts so far this year, compared to 693 over the same time last year. Comparing April 2026 to April 2025, housing starts in Gatineau more than doubled.

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The CMHC says there are 4,229 units under construction in Gatineau as of April, 2,090 have been approved but haven’t started construction yet, and 138 units were completed last month.

Kingston saw a 78 per cent decrease year-over-year in housing starts between January and April 2026, with 59 housing starts in four months, compared to 263 in the same period in 2025. There were six housing starts in April 2026 in the Limestone City, while 1,835 units remain under construction.

Nationally, housing starts were up six per cent year-over-year in the first four months of 2026, with 71,011 units built nationwide. Toronto posted a 34 per cent year-over-year increase in April. Montreal saw a 21 per cent increase, while Vancouver had a 30 per cent decrease due to lower multi-unit and single-detached starts, the CMHC said.

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