Canadian housing starts rose to a 15- month high in January, exceeding economists’ forecasts, led by British Columbia, government figures showed. Work began on a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 186,300 units, up 5.8 percent from December, and in British Columbia urban starts rose 20 percent to 24,800 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said today from Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expected 180,000 units nationwide, based on the median of 19 responses.