His announcement comes as Chrystia Freeland also announced she is leaving her cabinet post as finance minister.

The increase came as the annual pace of urban starts rose nine per cent to 245,083 in November compared with 224,492 in October.

With completion of the project, 12 First Nation communities are now connected to the provincial grid; four others will be connected in 2025.

The report says 2.4 million Canadian households are now in "core housing need" — 662,000 more than when Canada launched its national housing strategy in 2017.

The agency says the move came as sales increased in six of the seven subsectors it tracks, including in building materials and supplies.