Another year has come to an end, and a new one started, and with the turn of the year we also have a turn of the quarter, and it's time again to catch up with the number of cranes on our skyline. As of January 1, 2025, there were 279 cranes atop buildings across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), according to UrbanToronto's UTPro tracking of construction projects. This represents a drop of just 1 crane from our previous report last quarter

Historical chart of cranes in the GTA in dark blue, Hamilton in light blue, January 2022 to January 2025. Data from UTPro.

Map of the regions of the GTHA, and the number of cranes within each. As of January 1, 2025. Data from UTPro.

While the total number of cranes has fallen again for the seventh quarter in a row, this is the smallest quarter-to-quarter drop since 2023. As interest rates have continued to fall, we are perhaps seeing the nadir of the construction slump.   

Pie chart for the total number of cranes by region, as of the end of Q4 2024. Data from UTPro.

Toronto currently has 162 active cranes, down 14 from last quarter. However, Halton, Peel, and York have 34, 32, and 26 cranes, respectively, for a total of 92. This is an increase of 13 active cranes for these regions. The slack from Toronto is being picked up in the suburbs.   

Summary table of GTHA projects with cranes as of the end of Q4 2024. Data from UTPro.

Even the decline in the number of units being built is slowing down. This quarter, all projects with cranes are helping build a total of 83,949 dwelling units. While this is a 2.0% decline since last quarter, this 2% is a big improvement on the 8.6% drop from the quarter prior. In more good news, there is nearly 66 million ft² of gross floor area under construction by the cranes, which is an increase of nearly 1 million ft² since the previous quarter. Of the 198 projects in the GTHA with active cranes, 131 are under construction with one crane, 55 have two, 10 have three, and only 2 have four or more cranes. 

Pie chart for the total number of development projects with cranes by GTHA region, as of the end of Q4 2024. Data from UTPro.

Out of the 198 projects with an active crane, 120 of them are in Toronto, a drop from 125 last quarter. But as before, Toronto's loss is the GTA's gain, with Halton, Peel, and York and 22, 20, and 18 projects with at least one crane each, respectively, an increase of 6 new cranes from last quarter. 

A crane rises over The Spoke, at 386-394 Symington Avenue in Toronto. Photo from UrbanToronto user AlbertC.

 

We'll be back again in April with the next update on the quarterly crane count. In the meantime, you can always keep-up-date on the situation though our cranes thread where you can track the cranes at every project in the GTHA.

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UrbanToronto research and data service, UrbanToronto Pro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area—from proposal through to completion. We also offer Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.​