Where has rent spiked and where is it the cheapest in Canada? Here’s what StatCan data revealed

Downtown Vancouver seen from City Hall, May 4, 2026. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /10111503A

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New data from Statistics Canada has revealed current average asking rents across the country’s metropolitan areas and, in good news for renters, prices have decreased in the first quarter of 2026.

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The Quarterly Rent Statistics program, which uses listings posted on major rental platforms for Canada’s census metropolitan areas (CMAs), revealed that the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment was $2,150 per month in the first quarter of 2026, down 0.9 per cent from the first quarter of 2025, when the figure was $2,170.

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Average asking rents for two-bedroom apartments decreased for most metropolitan areas across Canada, declining to $2,660 in Toronto (-1.1 per cent), $1,900 in Montréal (-1.6 per cent), $3,100 in Vancouver (-2.2 per cent) and $2,350 in Ottawa–Gatineau (-5.6 per cent).

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Asking rents for a two-bedroom apartment decreased the most in Kingston, Ont., down from $1,960 in the last quarter of 2025 to $1,920 in 2026, a 5.9 per cent decline.

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This decline was followed by the 5.6 per cent decrease in Ottawa–Gatineau, as well as a 5 per cent decrease in Abbotsford–Mission, B.C., and a 4.5 per cent decrease in London, Ont.

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At the other end of the scale, Saskatoon saw the biggest increase in asking rents, growing from $1,540 to $1,630 per month (+9.4 per cent). This was followed by Greater Sudbury, Ont., with an increase of 7.7 per cent, and Regina, where asking rents increased by 5.7 per cent.

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The StatCan data also revealed the current asking rents for rooms, one-bed apartments, two-bed apartments and houses with three or more bedrooms across Canada’s CMAs.

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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Vancouver came in as the city with the highest asking rents, with single rooms priced at an average of $1,060 per month, one-bed apartments at $2,290, two-bed apartments at $3,100 and houses at $4,860.

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Vancouver has long been considered the most expensive city in Canada, with real estate brokerage Pine ranking it the least affordable city in the country last month due to the monthly cost of living and house prices.

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A 2025 study from Chapman University, in California, ranked Vancouver as the fourth most expensive city worldwide, behind Hong Kong, Sydney, and San Jose.

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Meanwhile, the StatCan report found that Sherbrooke, Que., had the cheapest average asking rents for a room, at $520, while one-bedroom apartments were cheapest in Trois-Rivières, Que. ($980), two-bedroom apartments were cheapest in Drummondville, Que. ($1,230), and houses were cheapest in Moncton, N.B. ($1,910).

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The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which helped conduct the Quarterly Rent Statistics program, puts the easing of asking rents down to increased supply and slower demand.

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In Toronto and Vancouver, landlords also point to increased competition from a surge in new condos, many of which can’t be absorbed in the ownership market, as a driver of lower asking rents.