Despite economic uncertainty and tighter budgets, today’s homeowners aren’t lowering their expectations around siding and exterior cladding. They are continuing to invest in façades that look better, last longer, and hold up against an environment that seems more unpredictable by the year.
The demand for creating a top-tier aesthetic and curb appeal is still front and centre with 2026 householders and builders. If anything, it has intensified, as homeowners invest in what they have rather than pursue a potentially risky real estate trade-up.
“The market is navigating between cost pressures and aesthetic expectation,” says Frank Horvath, Product Manager for Exterior Cladding at Cornerstone Building Brands Canada, parent company of Mitten Building Products. “What’s interesting is that expectation hasn’t dropped. Homeowners and contractors are still chasing premium looks; they’re just being creative about how they get there.”
These conflicting forces — high aesthetic ambitions and tighter wallets — have created a market split demanding greater options, materials, profiles and systems to give homeowners and builders the premium looks they crave at a variety of price points.
“Key forces shaping the category right now include climate resilience, labour constraints, and the need to manage costs. Contractors are feeling pressure to deliver quality work as efficiently as possible, while homeowners are thinking more about long term value,” says Diana Sousa, Director of Brand & Communication at Saint-Gobain Canada, parent company of Kaycan Ltd.
Installers today must remain even more on top of market trends and options. “They need to come back with all the information homeowners need,” says Maurizio Scatozza, Regional Manager at Royal Building Solutions. “Today’s homeowners are very intelligent, and they’ve done their homework ahead of time. They know what they like. When they reach out to a contractor now, they’re saying, ‘OK, this is what we want.’”
He adds:
“ Contractors are looking for more cost effective solutions, largely because homeowners still want to renovate — they just want to understand their options and the pricing across A, B, and C siding choices. In most cases, the contractor and homeowner end up landing on the option that delivers the best balance of value and the look they’re going for. ”
For contractors, that means being extra-prepared — not just with product knowledge, but with a clear understanding of the design directions homeowners are already gravitating toward. Of course, those style sensibilities vary from region to region, but several consistent themes continue to stand out.
Getting Warmer
Warm naturals, earthy hues, and what Scatozza calls “wood inspired tones” are on the rise. Horvath suggests this shift is an antidote to the cold, flat greys that dominated the last decade.
Sousa echoes their sentiments: “Design trends are moving toward warmer neutrals and natural tones are replacing cooler greys, often paired with darker accents for contrast.”
Photos courtesy of Royal Building Solutions
Photos courtesy of Kaycan Ltd
Black accents have dominated the housing scene in recent years and remain a design anchor for many exteriors, even as warmer palettes take hold. However, when those deep blacks are paired with woodgrain warmth, Horvath notes, the contrast reads as layered and intentional: a subtle signal of luxury rather than minimalism.
Photos courtesy of Mitten Building Products
That’s not to say minimalism doesn’t have its place in cladding. Josh O’Keefe, BC Sales Manager, James Hardie Building Products Inc., says homeowners are increasingly seeking modern and contemporary designs that emphasize simplicity as a route to premium appeal.
“The look of a simpler exterior with Scandinavian influence is what many consumers are looking for. An added benefit of this design is its simplicity, which often means it is relatively cost-effective.”
Photo courtesy of James Hardie Building Products Inc.
Is white the new black?
Perhaps due to increasing interest in neutral palettes, simpler lines, and the lighter hues of northern European design, an old favourite tone may be making a comeback.
White is re‑emerging in a significant way, says Eric Peloquin, National Retail Sales Manager for Gentek Building Products Co. “Interestingly, white — yes, the colour white — is becoming a big part of our sales.”
He adds, “For easily the last five years, every time you talked to people, you’d feel almost foolish asking what colour they wanted because, quite frankly, it didn’t matter whether you were talking about siding, roofing, or trim — people wanted black. People really like black.”
“Dark colour is still a factor, but in vinyl siding in general, you’re seeing white making a comeback.” He says lighter tones are showing up more in vinyl cladding, particularly in board‑and‑batten profiles.
Photos courtesy of Gentek Building Products Co.
Photos courtesy of Westman Steel Industries
Mixing it up: contemporary meets classic
Board-and-batten and modern farmhouse design remains a growing interest for homeowners.
Greg Gardenits, National Director of Sales and Marketing at Westman Steel Industries, says vertical profiles continue to surge, with homeowners mixing steel profiles and relying on proper coatings and grades to ensure long term performance. “Every year, I’m shocked at how fast board and batten is being accepted. It just seems to be the new look people want on their homes.”
“They want, maybe to highlight to the front entrance, so they’ll use a single 6” metal siding on the side walls but put a board-and-batten on the front entrance,” he continues. “We’re seeing a lot of combination of two different profiles being used.”
Peloquin says homeowners are no longer committing to a single cladding material across the entire façade. “Before, you’d drive through a neighbourhood and see one look across the whole house — all vinyl, or all wood,” he says. “Now people are mixing looks and highlighting different areas. Around the garage might have one style, the lower level another, and the second storey something different again.”
Mixed materials and layered façades are becoming the new norm for homeowners craving curb appeal. Chris McPhail, National Accounts Sales Executive at Vicwest notes seeing an uptick in multi-plank configurations in both residential and commercial installs.
“Multiple plank sizes can be installed together in any configuration giving homeowners and designers the flexibility to play with pattern and repetition.” These, he says, are being paired with hyper-realistic details and woodgrain finishes.
Photo courtesy of Vicwest
Meeting the drive-by test
Homeowners want to capture the warmth and appeal of natural grains and surfaces, but naturally — no pun intended — want to avoid the high maintenance and sometimes extraordinary cost involved.
Manufacturers across the category are driving up realism every year. Vicwest’s Bellara steel planks use ultra high resolution, digitally composited woodgrain to deliver what McPhail calls “elegant grains” and “beautifully aged patina,” digitally copied straight from curated lumber. In the vinyl segment, Mitten’s PVDF Natural Woodgrain collection is being used in soffits, porch ceilings and gable accents to bring warmth and texture at accessible price points, Horvath says. And James Hardie offers fibre cement alternatives like its Select Cedarmill and Artisan V Groove profiles to mimic the depth and character of painted wood without the upkeep, adds O’Keefe.
Photos courtesy of Vicwest
Photos courtesy of Mitten Building Products
And wood isn’t the only natural material homeowners want to recreate. Gentek’s Peloquin points to renewed interest in faux stone cladding and wood look aluminum, steel, and vinyl that pass the drive by test without the maintenance demands of the real thing.
“We have exterior cladding that looks like wood, but it’s not wood — and it doesn’t require the maintenance. We have aluminum, we have steel, and we have vinyl options. And the other category is faux stone. It looks like regular stone, but it’s lighter, so it installs much faster and easier.”
For homeowners, faux-natural facades mean greater durability and less work, and for contractors, mortar-free and easier to install systems mean more work is done in less time.
Photos courtesy of Gentek Building Products Co.
Sustaining lasting value
In exterior cladding, performance and sustainability fit hand in glove. As homeowner’s environmentally-conscious expectations rise — and as codes, testing requirements, and safety standards continue to tighten — documentation and verified performance are becoming just as important as aesthetics.
Sousa says homeowners are becoming much more intentional about their choices. “They’re thinking long term—focusing on materials that are durable, low maintenance, and aligned with their personal style.”
“We’re seeing a clear shift toward solutions that not only look great but also deliver real performance and long term value.”
To that end, she says that innovation is currently centered on improving performance while keeping things simple and quick to install. “We’re also seeing more interest in products that support the overall building envelope, helping boost energy efficiency and comfort.”
“And from a materials point of view, recyclability and long term durability, especially with aluminum, are becoming much bigger factors in decision making.”
Photos courtesy of Kaycan Ltd
Gardenits notes that while steel sits at a premium to vinyl, it brings the durability, longevity, and — importantly — recyclability that contribute to sustainable building. “Steel is 100% recyclable,” he says, “so it’s not going to end up in a landfill for your grandkids.
He notes that while steel sits at a premium to vinyl, its durability, longevity, and full recyclability make it a sustainable choice in more than one sense. “Steel is 100% recyclable… it’s not going to end up in a landfill for your grandkids,” he says. He also frames it as a matter of financial sustainability: fewer replacement cycles and stable long‑term performance reduce total cost over the life of a home.
Photo courtesy of Westman Steel Industries
Scatozza says that installation efficiency is becoming a legitimate part of the performance conversation as well, especially as a financial consideration. “Installers are more open to simplified designs and faster install systems,” he says. “Labour remains a constraint, and if a product is cumbersome to install or comes with long lead times, it can push a project out of budget.”
True North temperaments
Canada’s climate has always shaped material choice and building envelope design, but in recent years the weather has been temperamental to say the least. Harsher storms, frequent hail, and wildfires feel like unwanted annual appointments. As the adage goes, the only thing predictable now is the unpredictability.
Gardenits points to hail events in Alberta “literally tearing the siding off homes” and seasonal wildfires in B.C. as drivers of interest in steel siding — not because it’s “fireproof,” he notes, since nothing really is, but because its fire resistance is more likely to help a structure stay standing. He adds that insurance companies are increasingly asking for it.
Photo courtesy of Westman Steel Industries
Governments and consumers alike are driving the need for fire-mitigating cladding materials, O’Keefe adds. “We continue to see the impact of devastating wildfires on communities, which is driving the need for change in many areas across the country. One of the more consistent questions we receive is regarding non-combustible cladding and how contractors can achieve this without the need for changes to a wall assembly.”
Fibre cement options, he notes, meet that need by delivering non combustible performance without re engineering the underlying wall.
In line with tightening codes, regulators and home inspectors are getting stricter, Horvath suggests. They are demanding accredited lab reports, third party testing, and documentation that matches the exact installation scenario. Contractors who aren’t verifying their supplier’s paperwork are getting tangled in red tape, leading to costly delays.
Weather conditions aren’t the only thing heating up in 2026. With tariffs and supply chain uncertainty still simmering, Canadian homeowners, contractors, and builders are leaning harder into home grown suppliers.
Across the Canadian manufacturers, one message is consistent: interest in Canadian made materials is rising. Whether driven by supply chain confidence, sustainability commitments, or simple buyer sentiment, contractors and builders are leaning more heavily on domestic suppliers in 2026.
“There’s a clear trend toward buying Canadian,” McPhail says, noting that more than 95% of the steel Vicwest purchases comes from Canadian mills. “Our products are produced by Canadians for Canadians.”
The good news for contractors and homeowners is that choosing Canadian made doesn’t narrow the field. There’s no shortage of materials, profiles, and aesthetic options to meet needs from manufacturers at home, as well as abroad.
Photo courtesy of Vicwest
Photo courtesy of James Hardie Building Products Inc.
Photos courtesy of Mitten Building Products