2.3K 
The Toronto region's skylines are looking less dynamic again this year, as there are now fewer cranes on fewer projects for the second year in a row. As of January 1, 2026, there were 235 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 44 cranes from our report covering the same period last year.
Not all regions of the GTHA experienced a similar loss of cranes. While Toronto, Hamilton, and Halton all saw significant drops, York and Peel regions saw slight gains in cranes.
Across the GTHA, there are 215 projects using 293 cranes to build 402 buildings. At 351 metres (1154 ft), the tallest project with a crane is Pinnacle One Yonge's SkyTower. On the other end of the spectrum, the shortest project with a crane is the Ontario Line: Moss Park Station, the entrance pavilion of which will only pop 8 metres (26 ft) above ground. The typical height for a project with a crane is 42.5 metres, roughly 11 storeys.
The City of Toronto currently has 101 projects with at least one crane, down 19 from the same time last year. Halton Region dropped from 22 projects last year to only 12 projects with a crane this year—a drop of 83%. However, Peel Region saw an increase in the number of projects with a crane from 20 to 23. Despite the large drop in the number of projects overall, though, the Gross Floor Area (GFA) under construction only dropped by 0.06%, representing that bigger projects are under construction now. This is further reflected in the number of projects with 4+ cranes: 1 this year, compared to only 2 last year.
Despite the modest drop in GFA under construction, it is still concerning to see fewer projects under construction this year. Market conditions have yet to turn. As the pipeline of new projects continues to dwindle, we should expect to see a continuing decline of the number of cranes in the sky.
Yet construction is still happening on a massive scale. This is further cemented by the fact that some regions like Peel and York have actually seen an increase in crane activity. There are bright spots out there; perhaps made even brighter by the increasing pressure in other geographies.
We'll be back again in April with our next quarterly crane count update. In the meantime, you can always follow the situation though our new crane report thread where you can track cranes at all projects in the GTHA.
* * *
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.
