In response to rising housing costs, the Canadian government has implemented various measures, including Prime Minister Trudeau's pledge of $15 billion CAD for apartment construction and the introduction of a federal "Renters Bill of Rights." As a result, CIC News has created a guide for readers to compare rental prices in Canada's major cities.
This article will compare rental costs in Canada's largest metropolitan areas as of April 2024. Rental prices will be averaged from various sources including the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC), municipal and provincial sources, settlement agencies, online housing platforms like rentals.ca and zumper.ca, and news sources such as CTV and Global News. It will focus on bachelor, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartment units, providing averages as an indication of market trends. These averages may vary depending on location within a city and the landlord/rental company. The selection of metropolitan areas will be based on Statistics Canada's data from the 2021 census, ordered from most to least populous.
Toronto, Canada's most populous city, has high rental costs, with average monthly rents for bachelor, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartment units at $1,727 CAD, $2,507 CAD, and $3,356 CAD respectively.
Montreal, another major metropolitan area, offers comparatively more affordable rents, with average monthly rents for bachelor, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartment units at $1,471 CAD, $1,775 CAD, and $2,281 CAD respectively.
Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia, has the highest rental costs in Canada. Monthly rents average $2,331 CAD for bachelor units, $2,679 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $3,668 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Ottawa, Canada's capital, sees average monthly rents of $1,620 CAD for bachelor units, $1,990 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,465 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Calgary, Alberta's largest city, offers average monthly rents of $1,578 CAD for bachelor units, $1,885 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,274 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Edmonton, also in Alberta, has lower rental costs with average monthly rents of $1,046 CAD for bachelor units, $1,349 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $1,635 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Quebec City, the capital of Quebec, has average monthly rents of $1,048 CAD for bachelor units, $1,353 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $1,713 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Winnipeg, Manitoba's capital, offers average monthly rents of $971 CAD for bachelor units, $1,349 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $1,735 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Hamilton, Ontario, has average monthly rents of $1,459 CAD for bachelor units, $1,781 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,116 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Kitchener, part of the Waterloo metropolitan area in Ontario, sees average monthly rents of $1,210 CAD for bachelor units, $1,833 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,436 CAD for two-bedroom units.
London, a city in south-west Ontario, offers average monthly rents of $1,425 CAD for bachelor units, $1,799 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,163 CAD for two-bedroom units.
Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, has average monthly rents of $1,684 CAD for bachelor units, $1,971 CAD for one-bedroom units, and $2,585 CAD for two-bedroom units.