2024 Canada Rental Market Trend Report

New report reveals how immigration and interprovincial migration are driving Canada’s rent prices  

What are the factors behind Canada’s rising rent prices? How will migration patterns and construction growth affect housing supply in the coming year? As renters and landlords know, 2023 was a year that saw rent prices reach new heights in many of Canada’s major markets. Both Vancouver and Toronto continually had record-high rent prices, with Alberta’s major cities also seeing significant increases in rental rates. To better understand current trends in the Canadian rental market, Vancouver-based rental platform liv.rent has compiled its 2024 Rental Market Trend Report which includes data on average rent prices, comparisons of key rental markets and major driving factors behind current trends.

You can find a sample of these insights below. Download the full 43-page report below for complete information on average rent prices, immigration & interprovincial migration patterns, construction growth, predictions for the coming year, and much more.

Download the free 2024 liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report below for complete information on average rent prices and driving factors for B.C., Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec.

About the liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report

This report gives a retrospective analysis of key rental market data for B.C., Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec, plus predictions for the coming year. Providing important context to a year characterized by significant changes in cities across the country, the liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report is designed to help renters and landlords better understand the current state of the Canadian rental market. It also gives a snapshot of key information surrounding immigration and interprovincial migration levels, housing project data, and other rental-related topics.

The comprehensive report also provides an overview of yearly average rent prices and the cheapest/most expensive cities in the Metro Vancouver region and Greater Toronto Area. To gather these insights, the liv.rent team analyzed data from our own listings and other popular listing sites. This is supported by data from government agencies such as the Bank of Canada, CMHC, and Statistics Canada which provides insight into driving factors and major influences.

The full Canada-wide report is available as a free PDF here. Download your copy today to get an in-depth overview of 2024 trends in the Canadian rental market.

Here is a sample of some of the Canada-wide insights you can find in the full 2024 liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report:

Canada overview

Across Canada, the average monthly rent price for an unfurnished one-bedroom unit was $1,857

• Based on data from Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal

Immigration was a major driving factor behind the country’s higher rent prices

• In 2023, Canada saw its highest immigration levels since 2011. Between Q1 – Q3 2023, Canada welcomed 371,299 new immigrants.​

British Columbia

For the first time since 2012, more Canadians moved out of B.C. to other provinces than into the province from elsewhere in Canada

• Despite this, B.C. saw its highest annual population growth since 1974 – primarily as a result of immigration.

Vancouver saw the second-lowest population growth in the Metro Vancouver region

• Vancouver’s population grew by just +2% in 2023, while Richmond experienced a +10% year-over-year population growth

Alberta

It is now more expensive to rent in Calgary than in Montreal

• Although Calgary is still far cheaper to rent in than popular rental markets like Vancouver and Toronto, the city’s average rent prices saw a steep upward trend throughout 2023. ​

Ontario

Rent prices in the Greater Toronto Area increased more in 2023 than in 2022​

• Looking at the GTA as a whole, rent prices increased by +16% between 2022 and 2023, compared to a+10% year-over-year increase between 2021 and 2022.

Burlington was the fastest-growing city in the GTA, based on housing project completions​

• Burlington saw a +1,194% growth in housing project completions in 2023, the largest increase in the region

Quebec

Construction growth slowed in Montreal​​

• Montreal experienced a decline in construction across the board, for Housing Starts, Under Construction, and Completions

Data Collection Methodology

The 2024 liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report uses data from liv.rent listings, as well as data our team manually collects from other popular listing sites. Our data collection methods differ from some government agencies like the Bank of Canada and Statistics Canada in that we only include current asking rent prices. Many official reports will include data for entire buildings in their reports, which tends to skew numbers lower since many units are already occupied and may be rent-controlled or rented for significantly lower than the current rates. 

For data related to influencing factors, our team refers to data from trusted sources like Statistics Canada, Canada.ca, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), as well as gathering supporting information from media outlets such as CBC News, Calgary Herald, and Globe and Mail. 

For more information on our data collection methodology, including what types of rental housing we look at, please consult the full reports.

Download the free 2024 liv.rent Rental Market Trend Report here for complete information on average rent prices and driving factors for B.C., Ontario, Alberta, and Quebec.

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