Ontario Roofing Industry Statistics May 2026

Roofing is a large and steady business across Canada. The market was worth about 4.37 billion US dollars in 2025, and it is expected to reach 6.09 billion by 2033. That growth follows a simple fact: every roof in the country eventually wears out and needs to be replaced.

Thunder Bay is the largest city in Northwestern Ontario, with a population of 108,843 in the 2021 census. Add the surrounding townships and north-shore communities and that is a large stock of roofs spread across an isolated region, every one of them exposed to the same heavy snow load, ice, and Lake Superior weather year after year.

Older homes mean older roofs. A large share of Thunder Bay's housing, especially in Westfort and the older Port Arthur and Fort William streets, was built before 1980. A typical asphalt roof lasts 15 to 25 years in this climate, so many of these homes have been re-roofed at least once and a steady share reach replacement age every year. We are confirming the precise period-of-construction breakdown from the census and will publish it here when verified.

Thunder Bay sits on Lake Superior, which drives heavy lake-effect snow, strong cold winds, and big temperature swings. Heavy snow load and repeated freeze-thaw are the main forces wearing roofs down here. Our storm tracker logs major weather events that damage roofs across the region as they are reported.

A new asphalt shingle roof on a typical 1,500 square foot Ontario home runs about 8,500 to 18,000 dollars installed, with most jobs landing near 10,500. The final price depends on roof size, shingle grade, and how complex the roof is. In a cold, snowy region like Northwestern Ontario, proper ice-and-water membrane and ventilation are part of doing it right. Metal costs more up front but lasts far longer.

Asphalt shingles are the most popular roofing choice in Canada. They made up about 37 percent of the roofing materials market in 2025, the largest share of any single material. They stay popular because they cost less and hold up reasonably well to cold and snow, though in a hard freeze-thaw climate like the North's, metal increasingly wins on longevity.

Weather drives roofing demand in the North. Thunder Bay's long, snowy winter loads roofs for months and the freeze-thaw cycle wears them down, pushing most repair and replacement work into the spring and fall windows. The shorter workable season is one reason durable, low-maintenance roofing like metal is so popular here.

Severe weather is getting more expensive. Insured damage across Canada hit a record 8.55 billion dollars in 2024, the most ever and nearly triple the 2023 total. Since 2019, home property claims are up 115 percent and the cost to repair or replace property is up 485 percent, which feeds into the premiums homeowners pay across Ontario.

New construction feeds future roofing demand. Builders started 259,028 homes across Canada in 2025, up 5.6 percent from the year before. Every new home is a new roof, and in a few decades it becomes a replacement, the long, steady cycle that keeps roofing in demand everywhere, including the North.

Your roof does more than keep snow out. Natural Resources Canada estimates up to 25 percent of a home's heat can escape through the roof and attic. It recommends R-50 to R-60 attic insulation for Ontario, and a roof replacement is the best time to fix venting and top up insulation, which also helps prevent the ice dams that plague Northern roofs.

How long a roof lasts depends on the material. Basic asphalt shingles last about 15 to 25 years, architectural shingles 25 to 35, and metal roofs 40 to 70. Flat membrane roofs usually last 20 to 30 years. Cold, snowy climates like Thunder Bay's tend to sit at the lower end of each range, which is a big part of why metal is the long-term favourite up here.