Why is there a housing shortage in Canada right now? It has more to do with the new construction pipeline than the high cost of home ownership in Canada. Homeowner housing starts have dropped to their lowest level in more than 25 years, a steeper decline than what followed the 2008 financial crisis.

National price data doesn’t expose this. The average home in Canada sold for $674,819 in July 2026, up a slim 0.2% year-over-year, and CREA's benchmark index was down 3.3%, its smallest yearly drop in nearly a year, while sales rose for a fourth straight month. Look past those numbers, though, and the shortage is on the supply side: CMHC reports homeowner starts fell to a seasonally adjusted 229,074 units in July, down 5% month-over-month and the slowest…

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The most recent Trade War between the current US Government and Canada has greater impact than just higher prices at the register for certain goods. Tariffs reach housing through a chain, not a straight line: trade exposure hits specific industries, industries hit local employment, employment hits buyer and seller confidence, and confidence eventually hits housing demand. That chain is what helps you read any future tariff development, not just this one.

The first link is trade exposure. Statistics Canada's estimated average effective tariff rate captures how much of a province's trade is subject to new tariffs, and it varies enormously: roughly 12% in Quebec, 10% in B.C., 9.6% in Ontario, versus 0.5% in Alberta and 0.2% in Newfoundland and…

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