Canadian housing starts saw robust gains in December 2011, reaching 200,200 units on a seasonally adjusted annualized pace, well above November's 185,600 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)'s announcement on Tuesday.

"The increase posted in December was mainly attributable to the multiple urban starts, particularly in Ontario and in Atlantic Canada," said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 10.1 percent to 181,900 units in December, with multiple urban starts increasing by 14.5 percent to 111,300 units, and urban single starts up by 3.8 percent to 70,600 units, CMHC said.

Seasonally adjusted starts increased by 52.9 percent in Atlantic region, and 35.3 percent in Ontario.

But some economists doubted the reading would be sustainable, as the slower economic growth will make housing demand and building more subdued in 2012.