Rents in Canada Lowest in Two-and-a-Half Years

Asking rents for all property types in Canada ended the year at an average of $2,060 in December, decreasing on an annual basis for the 15th consecutive month with a 2.3% year-over-year decline. Rents fell to their lowest level in 30 months, declining by a total of 5.4% over the past two years.

Rents have risen by a total of 2.8% over the past three years and were 14.1% higher than the pre-pandemic level in December 2019.

December marked the slowest month for rental demand in two years, capping off five straight months of declining prospect counts since the July peak. While demand continued to cool into year-end, the pace of decline began to ease, suggesting that some renters began taking advantage of lower market rents.

While demand remains below levels from recent years, a seasonal improvement is anticipated to begin in January. Moving through 2026, affordability challenges, reduced mobility, and slower in-migration will continue to shape renter behaviour.

Annual Rent Decline in 2025 was Larger than During the Pandemic

When measured as an average over the entire year, asking rents in Canada decreased by 3.1% in 2025, surpassing annual decreases of 2.4% in 2020 and 1.6% in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the decline last year, rent growth since 2020 has remained in line with the long-term historic average at 2.9% per year.

Rents experienced downward pressure in 2025 due to affordability constraints following strong rent increases between 2022 and 2024, as well as heightened economic uncertainty, a decline in non-permanent residents and record-high apartment completions.

Largest Rent Declines for Secondary Market Units

Asking rents in Canada continued to experience the largest declines within the secondary market, with condo rents down 4.0% annually to an average of $2,131 and rents for units within freehold properties down 5.0% annually to an average of $2,071. Purpose-built apartment rents remained relatively stable with a 1.0% annual decline to an average of $2,049, but this does not account for incentives used frequently by rental housing providers, such as free rent periods for new leases that can lower effective rents.

Three-Bedroom Rents Rise Marginally

Nationally, rents for one-bedroom rentals decreased 3.1% year-over-year in December to an average of $1,798, which was nearly twice the 1.6% annual decrease for two-bedroom rents to an average of $2,166. The largest and most expensive rentals represented by four-bedroom-plus units also experienced a 3.1% annual rent decrease, falling to an average of $2,853. Meanwhile, rents edged up slightly by 0.2% from last year to an average of $2,501 for three-bedroom units.

Studio Condo Rents Drop 11%

Purpose-built apartment rents for three-bedroom units continued to rise in December, increasing 2.9% year-over-year to an average of $2,741. Studio purpose-built rents also experienced some growth over the past year, up 0.5% to an average of $1,584. Condo rents declined annually for each unit type, with the largest drop for studios (-11.2% to $1,677) and the smallest decline for three-bedrooms (-1.3% to $2,889).

BC and Ontario Apartment Rents Fall 10% in Two Years

Average asking rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments declined year-over-year in December in four provinces, including BC (-5.4% to $2,353), Ontario (-3.2% to $2,257), Alberta (-2.7% to $1,671), and Quebec (-1.9% to $1,934). Both BC and Ontario experienced population declines in 2025, while Alberta and Quebec saw record-high apartment completions.

In BC and Ontario, apartment rents dropped 9.8% and 9.7%, respectively, over the past two years. Apartment rents have decreased in BC for three consecutive years, with a total decline of 12.1% during the period.

Saskatchewan continued to lead rent growth in Canada, with apartment rents rising 7.1% over the past year and by a total of 16.3% over the past three years. At $1,395, average apartment rents in Saskatchewan were 32% below the national average, maintaining a significant affordability advantage.

Three-Bedroom Apartment Rents Rise in Four Provinces

Three-bedroom apartment rents grew over the past year in Alberta (+3.5% to $2,147), Saskatchewan (+3.2% to $1,693), Quebec (+0.7% to $2,651), and Ontario (+0.6% to $3,028). In BC, average apartment rents fell the most for two-bedroom units (-5.6% to $2,640), while one-bedroom rents saw the steepest declines in Ontario (-5.3% to $2,014) and Alberta (-4.0% to $1,473).

Apartment Rents Down 13% in Vancouver and 12% in Toronto in Past Two Years

Annual rent decreases for apartments within Canada’s six largest markets remained steepest in Vancouver (-7.9% to $2,654), Toronto (-5.1% to $2,498), and Calgary (-5.0% to $1,824). Milder rent declines were reported in Montreal (-2.3% to $1,952) and Ottawa (-0.5% to $2,153), while rent growth turned positive in Edmonton (+0.8% to $1,518).

Edmonton led Canada’s largest markets for rent growth over the past three years, with a 17.4% increase, followed by Montreal with a 7.5% increase during the same period.

Vancouver and Toronto apartment rents fell to their lowest levels since early 2022, recording two-year drops of 13.3% and 11.8%, respectively. The $155 per month (or 6.2%) premium held by Vancouver apartment rents relative to Toronto was its smallest in more than three years.

Three-Bedroom Apartment Rents Rising in Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal

Three-bedroom apartment rents experienced notable growth over the past year in Edmonton (+9.0% to $2,034), Ottawa (+7.4% to $2,766) and Montreal (+2.6% to $2,851), while recording only a minor annual decrease in Calgary (-0.6% to $2,046). Meanwhile, three-bedroom apartment rents dropped the most in Vancouver (-10.2% to $3,931).

Lowest and Highest Priced Cities Average Between $1,200 to $3,000

Outside of Canada’s six largest markets, the top 25 most expensive markets according to average apartment rents in December included 14 cities in Ontario, six in BC, three in Quebec, and two in Nova Scotia. The top four were all located in BC: North Vancouver ($2,948), Richmond ($2,585), Coquitlam ($2,531) and Burnaby ($2,504). Ontario’s highest apartment rents were in North York ($2,495) and Oakville ($2,492), while Westmount ($2,460) had the highest average apartment rents in Quebec. Halifax led Atlantic provinces with an average apartment rent of $2,247, followed by Dartmouth ($2,177).

Eight of the 10 most affordable cities in Canada, according to average asking rents for apartments, were in the Prairie Provinces, with the top four in Alberta: Lloydminster ($1,214), Fort McMurray ($1,275), Medicine Hat ($1,355), and Grande Prairie ($1,408). Saskatchewan markets of Regina ($1,416) and Saskatoon ($1,469) ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, while Quebec City ($1,496) and Cote Saint-Luc ($1,573) in Quebec ranked eighth and tenth. The most affordable markets for apartment rents in Ontario were Sarnia ($1,688), Welland ($1,723), and Windsor ($1,740).

BC and Ontario Include Mix of Fastest and Slowest Growing Rental Markets

Kingston continued to lead all cities in Canada for apartment rent growth in December, with rents rising 20.3% annually to an average of $2,282, largely due to an increased share of listings within higher-priced, newly completed projects. Apartments rents rose 8.2% annually in Regina and Saskatoon, which was more reflective of underlying market conditions.

BC and Ontario included a mix of cities represented among the fastest and slowest growing markets. In BC, Nanaimo and Abbotsford saw apartments rise 5.6% and 4.4%, respectively, while New Westminster and Coquitlam experienced rent declines of 15.4% and 14.0%, respectively. Similarly, in Ontario, average apartment rents rose in Hamilton (+5.9%), Windsor (+3.5%), and Brantford (+3.2%), while falling by as much as 13.8% in Oakville, 10.0% in East York, and 9.2% in Niagara Falls.

Shared Accommodation Rents Fall to Nearly Three-Year Low

Asking rents for shared accommodations in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec averaged $902 in December, representing a 34-month low. Average rents fell annually for the 13th consecutive month, declining 8.5% from a year ago and down 10.3% compared to two years earlier.

Shared accommodation rents fell over the past year across each province tracked. BC led all provinces with a 9.6% annual decline to an average of $1,052, followed closely by Ontario (-9.4% to $993) and Quebec (-9.1% to $836). Average rents for shared accommodations decreased 5.0% annually in Alberta to an average of $817.

Vancouver experienced the largest drop in shared accommodation rents among cities tracked, registering a 17.2% annual decline to an average of $1,154. Montreal and Calgary reported similar annual declines in shared accommodation rents of 6.6% (to $854) and 6.3% (to $826), respectively. Shared accommodation rents in Toronto held relatively steady with a 1.6% annual decrease to $1,174 and edged up 0.2% from last year in Edmonton to an average of $774. Ottawa reported the largest year-over-year increase in rents for shared accommodations with a 7.1% gain to an average of $1,107, largely owing to an increased number of listings in newly completed co-living projects.

You can check out the previous rent reports here