Jessica 
Homeowners comparing deck quotes to what they remember paying a few years ago are often startled by the difference. It’s not just perception — the cost of building a deck in Canada has climbed sharply and unevenly across the country over the past several years, and understanding why helps put current quotes in context rather than assuming a contractor is simply charging more for the same job.
The Numbers Behind the Sticker Shock
Statistics Canada’s quarterly Residential Renovation Price Index tracks how much it costs to install features like decks and patios across major housing markets, and the recent trend is striking. According to the agency’s data, deck installation prices in Toronto have climbed 152.8% since the onset of the pandemic, and are up 198% since the index began tracking the category in 2017. Vancouver has seen a 64.4% increase since the pandemic began, with prices 113.6% higher than in the first quarter of 2017.
The increases aren’t uniform. Between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2025 alone, Victoria saw deck installation prices rise 21.6% and Regina rose 20.2%, while Calgary climbed 14.1% over the same period — noticeably faster than Edmonton’s 2.6% increase. A few cities actually saw prices ease slightly, with London down 4.9% and Ottawa–Gatineau down 0.7% over that same two-year window, showing that local market conditions matter as much as national trends.
What’s Actually Driving the Increase
Two factors explain most of the run-up, according to Statistics Canada’s analysis: lumber costs and labour costs.
Lumber prices spiked sharply during the pandemic-era construction boom, rising 19.6% in 2020 and another 40.4% in 2021 as demand for new housing and renovations surged simultaneously. Even after those initial spikes cooled, lumber remained well above pre-pandemic levels — Statistics Canada reported lumber prices in 2024 were still 26.6% higher than they were in 2019.
Labour costs have climbed steadily as well. Deck installers, who work as part of the foundation, structure, and exterior contracting trades, earned an average of $36.36 per hour in 2024, compared to $32.91 in 2020 — an increase of roughly $3.45 an hour, or about 10%, over four years. For a project that’s inherently labour-intensive, with framing, footings, and finish work all done largely by hand, that wage growth flows directly into the final quote.
Why Decks Have Risen Faster Than Patios
Statistics Canada’s data also points to something specific about decks versus other outdoor renovation projects: deck prices have grown faster nationally than patio prices, largely because decks are wood-based structures that are directly exposed to lumber cost swings, while patios rely more heavily on paving stone and masonry materials that followed a different, generally slower cost trajectory over the same period.
This distinction matters for homeowners weighing the two options. A patio and a deck can serve a similar function in a backyard, but they’re exposed to different supply chains, which means their relative cost comparison today looks different than it did five or six years ago.
What This Means for Budgeting a Deck Project
For anyone planning a deck build, a few practical takeaways follow from this data. First, material selection matters more than it used to purely from a cost-volatility standpoint — pressure-treated lumber pricing has been the most exposed to the swings Statistics Canada has tracked, while composite and PVC materials, which rely less on softwood lumber, have followed a comparatively steadier cost pattern in recent years even though their sticker price per square foot is higher.
Second, regional differences are large enough that a national average cost figure isn’t a reliable planning tool. A homeowner in Victoria or Toronto is working with a very different cost trajectory than one in Ottawa or London, and quotes should be benchmarked against local pricing trends rather than a countrywide number.
Third, labour availability and cost are likely to remain a factor rather than a temporary spike. Wage growth in the skilled trades tends to be stickier than material costs, which can fall back down once supply chains normalize — lumber prices have already retreated somewhat from their pandemic peak even though they remain elevated, while labour costs have shown no comparable pullback.
Getting an Accurate Quote in Today’s Market
Given how much regional and material factors can move the final price, getting a detailed, itemized quote — rather than relying on a rough per-square-foot estimate from a few years ago — is the most reliable way to plan a deck project’s budget today. For homeowners working through this process for the first time, this overview of what to expect when working with deck building contractors covers the typical stages of a deck project, from initial design through permitting and construction, which is useful context for comparing quotes and understanding where costs typically show up.
The gap between what a deck cost five years ago and what it costs today isn’t arbitrary. It reflects a specific, traceable combination of lumber market volatility and rising skilled labour wages, both of which are documented in Statistics Canada’s renovation price data rather than being unique to any one contractor or region. Understanding that context makes it easier to evaluate whether a quote is reasonable for current market conditions.
