Edmonton Economy · StatCan permits + CMHC starts
Edmonton housing supply
Over the 12 months to april 2026, the Edmonton census metropolitan area approved building permits for about 23,632 new homes (+1.2% year over year). In 2025, builders broke ground on 21,337 — the most in at least a decade, up +16.1% on 2024. Permits lead starts, which lead finished homes — so read these as a forward-looking measure of new supply.
New homes approved
23,632
building permits · 12 months to April 2026
vs prior year
+1.2%
12-month change in homes approved
Housing starts
21,337
ground broken · 2025 · +16.1% YoY
Residential permit value
$4.85B
12 months to April 2026
Permits, starts, completions — what they measure
A building permit is municipal approval to build. A housing start is when construction actually begins — ground broken. A completion is a finished, ready-to-occupy home. They run in sequence, and each is smaller than the one before: in 2025, Edmonton approved 24,718 homes by permit and started 21,337 — about 86% of approvals. So permits are an early, forward-looking signal of new supply, not a count of finished homes.
We show permits (Statistics Canada — the most current, monthly) and housing starts (CMHC — annual count of ground broken). Completions and under-construction aren't shown yet; Statistics Canada doesn't carry Edmonton-CMA CMHC starts on its data feed, so the starts here come from CMHC's portal and are refreshed periodically rather than live.
Permits and starts over time
Building permits (approvals) against housing starts (ground broken) each year in the Edmonton CMA. Both roughly doubled from their 2018–2021 range into 2024–2025, tracking the region's population surge — and permits sit above starts, as the pipeline implies.
Reading the chart: calendar-year totals — permits from Statistics Canada (table 34-10-0292), starts from CMHC's Starts and Completions Survey. The current year is partial, so it's reported as the rolling 12-month permit figure (23,632 to April 2026) in the table below rather than on the lines.
The numbers behind the chart
New homes approved (building permits) and housing starts, Edmonton CMA — complete calendar years, plus the most recent rolling 12 months of permits.
| Period | Building permits | Housing starts |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 11,840 | 10,038 |
| 2019 | 10,532 | 10,720 |
| 2020 | 12,277 | 11,512 |
| 2021 | 13,588 | 12,546 |
| 2022 | 15,574 | 14,586 |
| 2023 | 14,196 | 13,184 |
| 2024 | 21,935 | 18,384 |
| 2025 | 24,718 | 21,337 |
| 12 months to April 2026 | 23,632 | — |
What's being built
How 2025's housing starts split by structure type. Apartments were the largest single category — about 48% of all starts, as Edmonton's new supply shifts toward higher-density, rental- and condo-friendly forms.
Where the construction dollars go
The value of residential vs non-residential building permits over the past 12 months — homes versus offices, retail and industrial space.
How Edmonton's homebuilding compares
New homes approved per 1,000 residents over the past 12 months — the like-for-like way to compare metros of very different sizes. Bigger metros approve more in absolute terms; per resident, Edmonton leads this group.
Bars show homes approved per 1,000 residents; the second figure is the absolute 12-month total. Population is each metro's latest Statistics Canada estimate.
Edmonton housing supply — FAQ
How many new homes are being built in Edmonton?
Over the 12 months to april 2026, the Edmonton census metropolitan area (CMA) issued building permits for about 23,632 new dwelling units (+1.2% versus the prior 12 months). In 2025, builders actually broke ground on 21,337 — that's the housing-starts count. A permit is approval to build; a start is ground broken — so permits run ahead of, and exceed, starts.
How many housing starts were there in Edmonton in 2025?
CMHC recorded 21,337 housing starts in the Edmonton CMA in 2025, +16.1% from 2024 — the most in at least a decade. Apartments made up about 48% of those starts, the largest single category, as new supply shifts toward higher-density forms.
Is Edmonton approving enough housing compared with other cities?
On a per-resident basis Edmonton leads the metros compared here: about 14 new homes approved per 1,000 residents over the past year, versus Calgary 12.4, Vancouver 9, Toronto 4.9. Bigger metros approve more in absolute terms, so per-capita is the fairer comparison.
What's the difference between a building permit, a housing start, and a completion?
They're three sequential stages. A building permit is municipal approval to build. A housing start is when construction actually begins (foundation). A completion is a finished, ready-to-occupy home. Each is smaller than the one before — in 2025, Edmonton's starts were about 86% of its permits, and there's a lag between stages, so permits are an early, forward-looking signal of new supply.
How current is this data and how often is it updated?
Building permits are Statistics Canada figures for the Edmonton CMA, published monthly with about a six-week lag (latest reference month April 2026, released June 11, 2026); because single months are volatile, the headline is a rolling 12-month total. Housing starts are CMHC annual totals, shown for complete calendar years (latest 2025).
About this data
Building permits come from Statistics Canada's permits survey (table 34-10-0292), which collects activity from Canadian municipalities — unadjusted actual counts and current-dollar values, summed over a rolling 12 months because any single month is volatile; new data lands monthly with about a six-week lag (latest April 2026, released June 11, 2026). Housing starts come from CMHC's Starts and Completions Survey. Statistics Canada doesn't carry Edmonton-CMA CMHC starts on its data feed, so this layer is pulled from CMHC's Housing Market Information Portal and committed to the site, then refreshed periodically — not fetched live. The latest complete year is 2025. Completions and under-construction figures aren't shown.
Sources & licence
- Adapted from Statistics Canada, Table 34-10-0292-01, April 2026. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
- Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Starts and Completions Survey, 2025. This information is reproduced and distributed on an "as is" basis with the permission of CMHC.
- Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Building permits are Statistics Canada table 34-10-0292 for the Edmonton CMA — unadjusted, current dollars, summed over rolling 12-month windows — released monthly with about a six-week lag (latest April 2026, released June 11, 2026). Housing starts are CMHC's Starts and Completions Survey (Edmonton CMA, annual), via CMHC's Housing Market Information Portal; Statistics Canada does not carry Edmonton-CMA starts, so this layer is pulled and committed, not fetched live. Completions and under-construction figures are not shown.
Content on this site does not constitute financial or investment advice. Trevor Tardif is a licensed REALTOR® with REAL Broker AB Ltd, Edmonton, Alberta.
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