Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says, outside of Quebec, the national trends in housing starts increased in April, despite the impact of COVID-19. Quebec was excluded because of the introduction of pandemic measures in that province in late March. There was strong growth in multi-family starts in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Total starts in Saskatchewan, including single-detached and all other homes, rose from 96 in April last year to 180 in the same month this year.

In Saskatoon, housing starts rose from 51 in April of 2019 to 86 this April. CMHC expects Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to register declines in the near term.