Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of house construction picked up in December, pushed higher by activity in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
The national housing agency says housing starts were at a seasonally adjusted rate of more than 200,000 units of single-family and multiple-family dwellings.
That’s up from 185,600 units in November.
The seasonal figures attempt to adjust for the impact of slow and busy periods during different parts of the year.
There were actually about 16,576 housing units started in December, giving a preliminary estimate for the year of 200,200 housing starts.
The housing corporation says urban starts rose by 52.9% in Atlantic Canada, 35.3% in Ontario and 9.0% in Quebec.
They fell 19.8% in British Columbia and 11% in the Prairies.