Opinion: Growth is a shared challenge for the Edmonton region

Growth is happening. We see it in new homes and new arrivals. But how do we prepare for what comes next — and turn that growth into opportunity for the region?

The Edmonton metro region is a place people want to be. Albertans are choosing to put down roots, Canadians are moving here, and international migration continues to drive population growth. That momentum is exciting. It also comes with a responsibility: to plan thoughtfully for the people, communities and opportunities that growth brings.

BILD Edmonton Metro’s State of the Region report shows how dramatically our region is changing and how communities are responding. Alberta’s housing starts increased by more than 130 per cent between 2020 and 2025, compared with just 19.2 per cent nationally. Alberta’s share of Canada’s housing starts nearly doubled from 11.4 per cent to 22 per cent. We represent roughly one-eighth of Canada’s population, but in 2025 our province accounted for one-fourth of the country’s housing starts. That is worth celebrating at a time when housing affordability is front and centre.

The Edmonton metropolitan region grew at one of the fastest rates in Canada. At the same time, housing starts across the Edmonton census metropolitan area nearly doubled from approximately 11,500 in 2020 to more than 21,300 in 2025. For communities located outside Edmonton proper, housing starts more than tripled. The region is growing proportionally faster than the capital city itself.

What matters just as much as the volume of growth is where it is happening and what is being built. Housing choice is diversifying. Row homes have become the region’s fastest-growing housing product, while apartment construction is expanding rapidly outside Edmonton. Single-family homes remain an important part of the market and are increasingly delivered across the broader region. The share of Edmonton CMA single-family starts occurring in regional municipalities increased from 24 per cent in 2020 to 40.7 per cent in 2025.

Growth is not converging in one community or one type of home. Edmonton and the region are becoming more diverse, everywhere. That is important because the people who are moving here are diverse, too.

Some want a single-family home. Others want a row house or apartment. Some want to live in established areas of Edmonton, others in new communities. Many are choosing Beaumont, Leduc, Spruce Grove, Fort Saskatchewan, St. Albert or one of the region’s counties. Increasingly, people are making those choices based on their lives and lifestyles, not municipal boundaries.

Consider the airport corridor. Leduc, Beaumont, and Leduc County collectively recorded the highest housing starts of the region’s four geographic areas for the second consecutive year. There are understandable reasons for this: available land, transportation connections, employment, economic activity and market demand. In southern Edmonton, 11 neighbourhoods closest to the airport accounted for roughly one-quarter of the city’s permitted new housing units, despite representing only about one-eighth of developing neighbourhoods.

The airport corridor is increasingly a place that people want to move to, so it is vital that municipalities in this part of the region continue responding to growth pressures to ensure that housing remains attainable.

That brings us to the crux. Growth does not happen simply because people want to move here. Proactively planning for this level of growth takes work, co-ordination and collaboration. It requires land that can be developed, infrastructure and servicing, roads, utilities and transportation connections. It requires approvals that can respond to demand and enough certainty for businesses to make long-term investments. It also requires us to recognize that every municipality is different.

The State of the Region’s municipal data matrix benchmarks 13 municipalities across 18 indicators, from population growth and housing prices to development costs, building permits, land, serviced lots and approval timelines. The results demonstrate there is no municipality that leads on everything. Each community has different strengths, challenges and circumstances. That is why collaboration matters.

Growth in Edmonton strengthens surrounding communities; growth in those communities strengthens Edmonton. Growth is also a strategic opportunity. It brings new talent and workers, creates demand for businesses and investment, gives us the opportunity to renew and expand infrastructure and services. And it allows us to keep writing the story of our communities and our region.

But realizing those benefits will require all of us to engage with the complexity of growth rather than shy away from it.

People are choosing Edmonton metro. Our industry is ready to build the homes and communities they are looking for. Now, together, we need to make sure the conditions are there to keep pace. The goal is not growth for growth’s sake. The goal is to turn growth into stronger communities, greater housing choice, continued affordability and long-term prosperity for the entire Edmonton metropolitan region.

Kalen Anderson is the CEO of BILD Edmonton Metro. Paul Lanni is the chair of BILD Edmonton Metro’s board of directors and president and CEO of Averton.

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