StatCan data shows rents rise in Ottawa, but slow in Toronto and Vancouver

Vancouver recorded the highest average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Canada in the first quarter of 2025, reaching $3,170, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The figure marks a 7.8% decline year over year, down from $3,440 in Q1 2024, yet still places Vancouver at the top of the country’s most expensive rental markets.
Other major census metropolitan areas (CMAs) trailing closely behind include Toronto ($2,690), Victoria ($2,680), and Ottawa ($2,490). While Toronto and Victoria also experienced slight year-over-year declines, Ottawa bucked the trend, with average asking rents rising from $2,290 in Q1 2024 to current levels, a 8.7% annual increase.
StatCan notes that asking rents, as opposed to rents under long-term leases, are better indicators of real-time market trends. These rents reflect what new tenants are likely to pay and are not subject to rent control restrictions that may apply to ongoing leases.
Despite recent softening, long-term rental inflation in Vancouver remains steep. From the first quarter of 2019 to Q1 2025, average asking rents for two-bedroom apartments in Vancouver climbed 27.3%, up from $2,490. Toronto, meanwhile, posted a more modest increase of 5.1% over the same period, rising from $2,560.
Both cities experienced rental market volatility through the pandemic and subsequent recovery. In Toronto, average asking rents peaked at $2,920 in the latter half of 2023 before easing to current levels. Similarly, Vancouver’s two-bedroom rent peaked at $3,580 in Q3 2023 before declining.
Affordable markets
The largest year-over-year and multi-year rental increases were observed in Quebec’s smaller cities, despite them still offering Canada’s lowest rents. Drummondville and Sherbrooke recorded 100% and 89.4% increases respectively in two-bedroom asking rents since 2019. Drummondville’s average rose from $600 to $1,200, while Sherbrooke’s climbed from $660 to $1,250.
Montréal also saw a significant rise, with average asking rents for two-bedroom apartments increasing 70.8%, from $1,130 in 2019 to $1,930 in Q1 2025. Despite this surge, Montréal ranks 17th among CMAs for rental pricing.
While renting individual rooms typically provides a more affordable housing alternative, that’s no longer a guarantee in several B.C. cities. Vancouver led again with the highest average asking rent for a single room at $1,070. Victoria and Kelowna followed at $970, with Nanaimo and Kamloops rounding out the top five.
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Meanwhile, average asking rents for rooms in several Quebec markets were less than half those of Vancouver, including Saguenay ($480) and Sherbrooke ($500).
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