Canada Faces Long-Term Housing Supply Gap, Risks Affordability Progress as September Starts Rise, CMHC Says

08:49 AM EDT, 10/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canada's ongoing housing supply shortfall could threaten the affordability gains achieved since 2023 unless construction activity picks up, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) on Friday. "Canada still faces a long-term housing supply gap and unless housing construction levels increase, improvements in housing affordability since 2023 will be difficult to sustain," said Aled ab Iorwerth, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC, in a Friday note on September's housing starts data. Canada's seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose 3% in September to 248,896 units, up from 242,223 in August, added CMHC. September's rise was higher than the 232,500 consensus figure provided in a Bloomberg survey.