The average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment fell year over year in 24 out of 40 cities in the third quarter, including Montreal (-1%), Toronto (-3.9%) and Vancouver (-5.9%), according to data jointly published by Statistics Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
However, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment rose in the three metropolitan areas in Saskatchewan and Manitoba: Saskatoon (6%), Winnipeg (4.5%) and Regina (2.1%). Increases were also observed in places like Drummondville, Que. (11.5%); Greater Sudbury, Ont. (7.1%); and Nanaimo, B.C. (6.6%).
The asking rent decreases occurred amid slowing population growth, which stood at 0.1% in each of the first two quarters of 2025, and 148,000 dwellings that were completed in metropolitan areas sin the first three quarters.
The average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Toronto metropolitan area was $2,720 in the third quarter of 2025, down from a high of $2,920 reached in the second half of 2023. Toronto has experienced a weak home resale market since 2022, which could have pushed owners to rent their units rather than sell them. A higher number of rental units on the market may have contributed to lower average asking rent.
The trend was similar in Vancouver, where the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment decreased 5.9% in the third quarter of 2025 to $3,190 from the same period a year earlier. The number of sales in Vancouver was below the 20-year historical average and the number of non-permanent residents in B.C. fell in the first two quarters of this year.
The average asking rent for an individual room fell year over year in 16 of the 39 cities with available data in the third quarter of 2025. Many of these decreases were in B.C., with Nanaimo (-4.6%) and Vancouver (-4.5%) leading the nation in rent decreases.
On the flip side, Sherbrooke, Que. (8%), and Brantford, Ont. (6.9%), posted the largest increases in the average asking rent for an individual room in the third quarter.
St. John’s, N.L., is a city of two markets. The city saw the country’s third-largest increase in the average asking rent for an individual room (6.1%), but the largest decrease for two-bedroom apartments (-14.2%).