New Home Impact
Tomasz Zajda / Adobe Stock
No matter how you look at it, 2025 was a good year for new home construction here in Manitoba.
N ew home starts enjoyed something of a boom in the province this past year following a sluggish 2024. According to data provided by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Manitoba had 5,724 housing starts year-to-date at the end of October 2025 compared to 5,122 for the same time period in 2024, which represents a year-to- year increase of 12 per cent. That trend was even more pronounced when it came to single-family detached home starts, which climbed by 33 per cent overall in 2025 (1,935 versus 1,456 in 2024) compared to the previous year. In Winnipeg, single-family detached starts rose by a whopping 39 per cent (1,685 versus 1,209 in 2024). “In 2024, it was a bit of a slower year when it came to new home construction. In 2025, we saw basically a return to the normal levels of production that our indus- try sees and maybe even a bit above that,” says Lanny McInnes, president and CEO of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association. “The Manitoba market, especially when you compare what we’re seeing in terms of levels of activity in markets like Toronto (37 per cent decline in over- all home starts) or Vancouver (five per cent overall) that have seen fairly steep declines in start totals over the past year,
In a typical year, close to 8,000 new housing units are built in Manitoba. In terms of economic impact, that translates into approximately $2.5-billion worth of investment.
we performed quite well in terms of the level of activity that we experienced.” McInnes says two primary factors helped boost new home construction in Manitoba in 2025. First, interest rates held steady or declined, which provided greater market stability and certainty for people who make their home in this province and want to invest here. Second, the Manitoba econ- omy, especially in Winnipeg, continued to perform well despite trade challenges with our neighbours to the south, including repeated tariff threats emanating from the White House. “Manitoba has been able to weather those types of storms a bit better than perhaps other parts of the country have,” he says. That’s good news not only for home- builders but for the provincial economy as a whole. In a typical year, close to 8,000 new housing units are built in Manitoba. In terms of economic impact, that translates into approximately $2.5-billion worth of invest- ment. That investment helps employ about 18,500 people, both on and off-site, in the new home construction industry. That, in turn, helps distribute about $1.2-billion worth of wages to workers in the province.
MHBA | SPRING 2026 PARADE of HOMES 113
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