I hadn't realized that things were quite so bad in my home province. In an environment where house-building is a top priority at all levels of government, one province is performing worse than all the others: Ontario.
Supposedly the richest province, and an example to the world according to Premier Doug Ford, it seems like home-building in Ontario has plummeted recently, despite a pledge to "build, build, build" 1.5 million new homes by 2025.
While the rest of Canada saw a 17% increase of housing starts in the first half of 2025, compared to last year, Ontario saw a 25% decline, and a 35% decline from 2023. A few municipalities, like Ottawa, have seen substantial increases, but Toronto, the most populous city in the most populous province, registered a 44% decrease in housing starts, dragging down the rest of the province and the country.
And this, remember, is despite billions of taxpayer dollars being spent on home-building initiatives in the province. However, Ontario, and Toronto in particular, still has some of the longest waits in the country for municipal housebuilding approvals, and it has also decided not to allow four-units on residential lots, despite the recommendations of its own task force.
Doug Ford has beem notably quiet in recent months, suspiciously quiet. Now we know why.
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