April 2025 Rentals.ca Rent Report

National Overview

Asking Rents See First Monthly Increase in Six Months

The annual decline in March was notably smaller than in February (-4.8%) as rents increased 1.5% month-over-month — the first monthly increase since September 2024.

The improvement in rents during March can be related to a seasonal increase in demand following a slowdown in lease activity during the winter months. As well, renters may have become more active due to the recent improvement in affordability. Nonetheless, elevated supply driven by record apartment completions continued to weigh on rents in most parts of the country.

Purpose-built Rents Up 36% In Past 5 Years while Condo Rents were Flat

In the five years since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, average asking rents in Canada increased by 17.8%. Purpose-built rents grew 35.5% in the past five years to an average of $2,086, despite registering a 1.5% decrease in the past year. Condo rents, which declined 3.8% from a year ago to an average of $2,232, were only 0.6% higher than five years earlier in March 2020. Other secondary rentals saw average asking rents fall 5.6% annually to $2,186, with a 5-year increase of 13.6%.

Purpose-built Rents Continue Rising for Studios and Three-bedroom Units

Average rents for purpose-built apartments saw growth over the past year for studios (+1.8% to $1,593) and three-bedrooms (+3.7% to $2,711). Meanwhile, average rents declined 2.2% annually for both one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms to $1,883 and $2,280, respectively.

Condo rents also grew for three-bedroom apartments, increasing 1.0% over the past year to $2,850. Two-bedroom condo rents fell the most (-4.3% to $2,374), followed by one-bedrooms (-3.7% to $2,032) and studios (-1.4% to $1,826).

Largest Units had Strongest Rent Growth Since COVID-19

During the five-year period to March 2025, the largest units experienced the largest rent increases for purpose-built rentals. Three-bedroom apartment rents grew 39.6% and two-bedroom apartment rents increased 38.4%, compared to increases of 35.3% for one-bedrooms and 34.2% for studios over the same period. The five-year rent change for condos was negligible across all unit types.

Provincial Overview

Ontario and Quebec Lead Rent Declines in March

Overall, combined apartment rents for purpose-built and condo rentals decreased 1.9% annually in March to an average of $2,101.

Annual rent declines for apartments were mainly focused in Ontario (-3.5% to $2,327) and Quebec (-2.5% to $1,949), with marginal decreases in B.C. (-0.6% to $2,480) and Alberta (-0.4% to $1,721). Continued annual rent growth was observed in Saskatchewan (+3.0% to $1,336), Manitoba (+2.0% to $1,592) and Nova Scotia (+2.4% to $2,199).

Three-bedroom Rents Rise in all Provinces

All provinces saw annual growth in three-bedroom rents in March. Furthermore, three-bedroom apartments continued to perform best in most provinces, with annual rent increases of 1.9% in B.C. ($3,427), 5.6% in Alberta ($2,169), 5.1% in Saskatchewan ($1,716), 0.1% in Ontario ($3,019), and 4.4% in Quebec ($2,630). One-bedroom apartment rents increased the most year-over-year in Manitoba (+5.3% to $1,428) and Nova Scotia (+6.0% to $2,006).

Nova Scotia and Alberta Lead Five-Year Rent Growth

Looking exclusively at purpose-built apartments, annual rent changes ranged from a 3.2% decrease in Ontario to a 2.9% increase in Saskatchewan. In B.C., purpose-built rents were essentially flat (-0.1%), while increasing in Alberta (+1.8%). Compared to five years earlier, average purpose-built rents increased the most in Nova Scotia (+43.9%) and Alberta (+38.5%), followed by B.C. (+36.9%) and Saskatchewan (+33.9%). Ontario was the slowest-growing province for purpose-built rents over the past five years, with an increase of 16.4%.

Municipal Overview

Toronto and Vancouver Rents Fall to More Than 30-Month Lows

Apartment rents continued to decline in most of Canada’s six largest markets during March. Rents fell the most in Calgary last month, with a 7.8% annual decline to an average of $1,915, a two-year low. The 6.9% year-over-year decrease in apartment rents in Toronto marked the 14th consecutive month of annual declines, pushing average rents down to a 32-month low of $2,589. Apartment rents fell on an annual basis for the 16th straight month in Vancouver, declining 5.7% to a 35-month low of $2,822. Montreal saw apartment rents fall for the eighth month in a row, with a 4.0% year-over-year decrease to an average of $1,968. Both Ottawa and Edmonton managed to squeak out small annual rent increases of 0.9% to an average of $2,219 and 1.0% to an average of $1,522, respectively.

There were pockets of rent growth among unit types in Canada’s largest markets during March. Two-bedroom apartment rents increased 3.6% annually in Ottawa to an average of $2,599, three-bedroom apartment rents in Montreal grew 3.8% over the past year to an average of $2,792, and three-bedroom apartment rents in Edmonton were up 5.9% annually to an average of $2,015. Meanwhile, the largest annual declines in apartment rents among Canada’s six largest markets were identified for two-bedroom units in Vancouver (-4.8% to $3,522), Toronto (-9.3% to $2,966), Montreal (-4.0% to $2,240), and Calgary (-8.3% to $2,083).

Calgary Rents Grew the Most over the Past Five Years

For purpose-built rental apartments exclusively, rents declined by between 4.5% and 7.5% in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary over the past year, while registering a small increase of 0.5-1.2% in Ottawa and Edmonton. During the past five years, purpose-built rents increased the most in Calgary (+43.5%), followed by Edmonton (+26.7%) and Vancouver (+26.7%). Toronto recorded the smallest five-year increase (+12.1%) in purpose-built rents among Canada’s six largest markets.

BC and Ontario Cities are Most Expensive while Alberta and Saskatchewan are Most Affordable

The four most expensive markets in Canada, according to average asking rents for apartments in March, were all located in B.C. and included Richmond ($3,042), North Vancouver ($3,005), Burnaby ($2,778), and Coquitlam ($2,775). The fifth and sixth most expensive markets were located in the Greater Toronto and Montreal Areas, with Oakville averaging $2,728 and Westmount averaging $2,637. Overall, 16 of the top 25 most expensive markets (outside of the six largest) were located in Ontario, 13 of which were located in the GTA. Outside of the GTA, the most expensive markets in Ontario were Kanata ($2,564), Guelph ($2,275) and Waterloo ($2,258).

The most affordable markets in Canada were located in Alberta and Saskatchewan, including Lloydminster ($1,206), Fort McMurray ($1,300), Regina ($1,320), and Saskatoon ($1,414). Outside of these two provinces, the least expensive markets for average apartment rents were found in Sherbrooke ($1,419), Quebec City ($1,535), Winnipeg ($1,590), and Windsor ($1,689).

Cities in Alberta and Quebec Leading Rent Growth in Canada

The city with the fastest rising apartment rents in Canada during March was Grande Prairie, recording a 14.1% year-over-year increase. The next three fastest-growing cities for rents were located in Quebec and included Sherbrooke (+9.8%), Longueil (+8.8%), and Brossard (+7.9%). The fastest rising rents in Ontario were found in Gloucester (+7.1%), Oakville (+6.7%), Niagara Falls (+6.6%), and Greater Sudbury (+6.0%). In B.C., rent growth was led by Richmond (+6.9%).

Cote-Saint-Luc continued to lead rent declines in Canada with a 20.3% annual decrease in March, mostly owing to a compositional shift in listings away from higher-priced buildings. Other cities posting steep annual rent declines for apartments of more than 7% included Langley (-12.9%), Airdrie (-9.6%), North Vancouver (-8.1%), Ajax (-7.8%), Kingston (-7.7%), and Richmond Hill (-7.6%).

Shared Accommodation Rents Decline 4%

The number of shared accommodation listings in March increased 7% from a year ago, while remaining 25% below the record high set in January. At an average of $959, the average asking rent for shared accommodations decreased 4% annually.

Shared accommodation rents decreased over the past year across each of the four provinces tracked. Large urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal all saw annual rent declines for shared accommodations in March, with the largest annual decreases experienced in Toronto (-8% to $1,166) and Montreal (-9% to $862). Meanwhile, in Ottawa, asking rents for shared accommodations increased 7% from a year ago to $1,018.

You can check out the previous rent reports here

Rentals.ca Data

The data used in this analysis is based on monthly listings from the Rentals.ca Network of Internet Listings Services (ILS). This data differs from the numbers collected and published by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data covers both the primary and secondary rental markets and includes basement apartments, rental apartments, condominium apartments, townhouses, semi-detached houses, and single-detached houses. CMHC’s primary rental data only includes purpose-built rental apartments and rental townhouses. CMHC also collects data on secondary market rentals, but this is reported separately.

CMHC’s rental rates are based on the entire universe of purpose-built rental units (rental stock), regardless of rental tenure. CMHC rental rates are reflective of what the average household spends on rental housing and not the current market rents for vacant units. The data used in this report is based on the asking rates of available (vacant) units only and reflect on-going trends in the market. This covers a smaller sample size but is more representative of the actual market rent a prospective tenant would encounter. The Rentals.ca Network of ILS’s data typically provides much higher rental rates compared to CMHC, as vacant units typically reset to market rates when not subject to rent control.

The average and median rental rates in this report can also skew higher than CMHC’s data for the following reasons: the inclusion of larger more expensive unit types such as single-family homes, townhouse units, and large luxury condominium units; the presence of duplicate or multiple listings at the same property and the survivorship bias where more expensive or over-priced units take longer to lease and remain in the sample longer.

Properties listed for greater than $5,000 per month, and less than $500 per month are removed from the sample. Similarly, short-term rentals, single-room rentals, and furnished suites are removed from the sample when identifiable.