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Good morning! 🌴 You hear that? Jobsites across Quebec have gone silent as more than 200,000 workers have gone on their annual construction holiday. Known as “vacances de la construction”, the tradition was established in 1971 to provide a summer break for construction workers and improve worker well-being. Over time, it became a cultural tradition, with many Quebecers outside the industry also taking vacations during this period.

⏰ Today’s read: 6 minutes

MARKETS

Economy: Expectations for further interest rate cuts in Canada are fading, with economists at Scotiabank and RBC now forecasting that the Bank of Canada will hold its key rate at 2.75% through the end of 2025. The central bank appears content to stay within its neutral range as the economy shows signs of resilience, inflation remains elevated, and fiscal stimulus looms.

EVENTS

Save the date: SiteSummit 2026 in Toronto

After hosting one of the industry’s most celebrated events of the year, SiteNews is doubling down on SiteSummit. We are taking our flagship, multi-day conference out east for 2026. This year’s attendees called it one of the best industry events they had been to in years and we intend to raise the bar even higher. We will be hosting the industry’s biggest decision makers next summer for two days of unique networking, idea sharing and game-changing discussions. 

📍 Where: George Brown College, Toronto

⌚ When: June 23-24, 2026

NEED TO KNOW

The week's headlines

🚧 Rezoned: Metro Vancouver cities are shifting how they do zoning to spur more home construction. The City of Burnaby has abandoned traditional floor area ratio (FAR) calculations in favour of maximum building heights measured in storeys. Meanwhile, Vancouver plans to begin introducing standardized zoning district schedules for residential buildings that will have defined sets of built form typologies.

 🏗️Tower trio: Construction has begun on Alta, a $650-million, three-tower rental development near Scarborough Town Centre—the largest single-phase rental project currently underway in Toronto. Backed by a record CMHC low-interest loan and supported by all levels of government, Alta will deliver 1,285 rental units, including 268 affordable homes, alongside retail space and community amenities.

✈️ Takeoff: The Canada Infrastructure Bank is lending $1 billion to ADM Aéroports de Montréal to help fund a $10-billion, decade-long overhaul of YUL Montréal-Trudeau International Airport, the largest infrastructure investment in the airport’s history. The upgrades, part of ADM’s “Flight Plan 2028–2035,” aim to meet surging passenger demand by modernizing both airside and groundside facilities, including new gates, baggage systems, taxiways, roadways, and a REM light-rail connection.

💵 Real estate IPO: GO Residential Real Estate Investment Trust, a U.S. company that owns five luxury rental towers in Manhattan, is launching a US$410-million IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange—one of the largest real estate IPOs in Canadian history. The offering, backed by cornerstone investor Cohen & Steers, could total US$500 million and aims to pay down the company’s substantial debt.

THE BIG STORY

Rental rises: Developers eye major market shift

A sharp pivot is under way in Canada’s housing scene: high-rise condos are losing steam while purpose-built rental housing is surging—signalling a major shift and fresh opportunities. In the past 12 months, Canada saw about 108,000 rental unit starts—nearly double the number of condos, as buyer demand continues to slump, according to CMHC.

Why so low: Condos are hitting a wall. High borrowing costs and weaker presales have stalled traditional condo projects. Condo sales in Toronto plummeted 75% between mid-2022 and Q1 2025, while Vancouver saw a 37% decline. Ontario recorded 12,700 housing starts in Q1 2025 — down 20.2% from the previous quarter and the lowest since late 2009. Simply put, developers are delivering housing at a cost that people can’t afford to purchase.

On the rise: Rental projects benefit from stable, long-term returns in a market starved for supply. Meanwhile, the federal government is incentivizing rentals—most notably with a landmark $650 million CMHC loan for a 1,285‑unit project in Scarborough, the largest single-phase rental loan to date. Over 131,000 new rental units are underway nationwide, backed by $23 billion in supportive loans.

Cautiously optimistic: Despite optimism—especially in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal—a recent survey finds just 29% of developers confident in short-term rental project feasibility, citing capital access, high upfront costs, development fees, and interest rates. Still, many larger developers are pivoting toward long-term ownership models, favouring rentals as a core asset over condo flip projects.

More to come: Experts suggest it’s just the beginning. Here’s what Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO had to say: “That shift from condos to rentals has cushioned the economic impact of a frozen ownership/condo market. But it also suggests that the bearish cycle for rents is still very young—there is a very full pipeline of supply coming right as population growth is stepping back down.”

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Wetland once more

Toronto has unveiled the first 50 acres of Biidaasige Park, a striking new green space born from the $1.5-billion Port Lands Flood Protection Project, which reengineered the Don River’s mouth to reduce flood risk and restore natural habitat. Built on formerly industrial land, the park blends ecological restoration with imaginative public amenities. The project, led by Waterfront Toronto, marks a rare collaboration among all levels of government and transforms a long-neglected area into a vibrant, resilient urban space that foreshadows future development and reconnects people with the land and water.

PROJECT UPDATES

Bird wins three correctional facility projects

Ontario announces support for new Waterloo hospital

Financial pressures threaten potash mine project in Saskatchewan

Calgary wraps Gladstone drainage project

Alberta pledges $22M for Chinook Regional Hospital upgrades

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

READ: 👷‍♀️Celebrating construction’s most influential women

AWARDS: 🏆 VRCA announces Silver Award winners

PHOTOS: 🪵 World’s largest timber-arch roof assembled in B.C. 

VIDEO: 🏗️ Touring the Valley Line West LRT’s giant gantry crane

READ: 🏁 IndyCar racers complain about Toronto road conditions

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Here’s to a great rest of the week!

Disclaimer: SiteNews is an independently-operated news website. Views expressed are that of the editorial team and are based on publicly available information unless otherwise noted through sponsored content.