The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 201,936 units in July compared to 197,847 in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts.

"July's housing starts continued to pick up pace, as construction strengthened in BC and Ontario's multi-unit segments," said Aled ab Iorwerth, CMHC's Deputy Chief Economist. "This reflects continued strong demand for lower-priced homes and low inventories of completed and unsold new units."