Between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment fell from $3,440 to $3,170 in Vancouver and from $2,850 to $2,690 in Toronto, according to data Statistics Canada released Wednesday and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Vancouver and Toronto remain the most expensive cities to rent in while Sherbrooke ($1,250) and Drummondville ($1,200) in eastern Quebec remain the cheapest for a two-bedroom apartment.
While rents in many Canadian cities have remained stable or fallen in the past year, they have increased drastically since 2019.
Cities with the lowest rents tend to see faster increases than more expensive areas. In Drummondville, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment doubled from $600 in Q1 2019 to $1,200 in 2025, while Sherbrooke’s rose from $660 to $1,250 over the same period.
In contrast, Toronto saw 5.1% growth in the asking rent of two-bedroom units, increasing from $2,560 in the first quarter of 2019 to $2,690 in the first quarter of 2025. Average asking rents in Toronto fell during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic before peaking at $2,920 in the second half of 2023.
Vancouver followed a similar pattern. The average asking rent for two-bedroom apartments increased by 27.3% from the first quarter of 2019 ($2,490) to the first quarter of 2025 ($3,170). Rents started increasing in early 2021, reaching a peak of $3,580 in the third quarter of 2023 before falling.
Montreal’s average asking rent for two-bedroom apartments, middling at $1,930 in the first quarter of 2025, started at $1,130 in 2019 — marking a 70.8% increase over six years.
Individual rooms are usually more affordable. In the first quarter of 2025, the average asking rent for rooms was the lowest in several places in Quebec including Saguenay ($480), Sherbrooke ($500) and Trois-Rivières ($510). Average asking rents for rooms were the highest in British Columbia’s largest cities including Vancouver ($1,070), and Victoria and Kelowna ($970 each).