Winnipeg continues to buck the national housing slowdown, recording the strongest growth in housing starts among Canada’s 10 largest cities so far in 2026.
New data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows 3,514 homes started construction in Winnipeg between January and July, up 40.4 per cent from 2,503 during the same period last year.
By comparison, housing starts across Canada are down 4.1 per cent year-over-year.
“At a time when housing construction is slowing across much of Canada, Winnipeg is moving in the other direction,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham. “More homes are starting construction, more homes are being completed, and Winnipeg is leading the country’s largest cities in housing growth. That’s exactly the direction we need to keep going.”
Among Canada’s 10 largest cities, Winnipeg recorded the largest percentage increase in housing starts through the first seven months of 2026, ahead of Montreal at 32.5 per cent and Toronto at 8.4 per cent. The other seven cities all recorded a decline.
Winnipeg is also seeing a significant increase in homes reaching completion. CMHC reports 2,936 housing completions through July, up 52.7 per cent from 1,923 during the same period in 2025.
The City has introduced a series of measures over the past several years aimed at allowing more housing to be built more quickly, including zoning changes to permit more homes near major transit routes and more density city-wide, improvements to the development approval process, infrastructure improvements, and grants through Winnipeg’s $126-million Housing Accelerator Fund agreement with the federal government.
CMHC Housing Market Information Portal: https://bit.ly/CMHC-housing-portal