Rentdigi: Which Canadian City Has Seen the Biggest Rent Increase This Year?
Table des matières
- 1. The cities going up
- 2. The cities going down
- 3. The six largest markets
- 4. Why the map split
- 5. What it means depending on which side you are on
- 6. FAQ
- 7. Which Canadian city has the biggest rent increase in 2026?
- 8. What is the average rent in Canada right now?
- 9. Which Canadian city has the cheapest rent?
- 10. Are rents rising or falling in Canada?
- 11. What is Canada's rental vacancy rate?
Among the markets Rentals.ca tracks, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia has seen the largest year-over-year rent increase in Canada: up 13.1% as of July 2026 data, published in the August 2026 National Rent Report.
What makes that striking is the backdrop. The national average asking rent fell 4.0% over the same period, to $2,037. Dartmouth is not riding a national wave. It is going the other direction.
The cities going up
From the August 2026 National Rent Report's own list of largest annual increases:
- Dartmouth, NS — +13.1%
- Lloydminster, AB/SK — +11.3%
- Welland, ON — +6.9%
- North York, ON — +5.1%
- Halifax, NS — +4.8%
Two Nova Scotia entries in the top five is not a coincidence. Nova Scotia is one of only two provinces where asking rents rose year over year — up 4.5% to $2,377, the highest provincial increase in the country. Manitoba was the other, up 1.5%.
The cities going down
The same report's list of largest annual declines:
- Côte Saint-Luc, QC — −12.9%
- Abbotsford, BC — −12.4%
- Markham, ON — −11.9%
- Longueuil, QC — −10.9%
Provincially, Ontario fell 3.7%, British Columbia 4.1%, and Alberta 4.3%.
A note on how to read these: this is the report's own ranked list of the markets it tracks, not an exhaustive ranking of every Canadian city. A small market with thin listing volume can swing hard on a modest number of listings. Trend beats a single month.
The six largest markets
| City | Month over month | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto | +1.6% | −0.6% |
| Montreal | −0.4% | −1.6% |
| Ottawa | −0.2% | −2.4% |
| Edmonton | +0.1% | −3.6% |
| Calgary | +0.5% | −4.5% |
| Vancouver | −1.4% | −4.5% |
Every one of the big six is down year over year — and four of the six are up month over month. That pattern, declining annually but rising monthly, is what a market turning off a bottom looks like.
Why the map split
Two forces are pulling in opposite directions.
Supply. CMHC's 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update credits "increased supply and slower demand" with easing asking rents and moving Canada's major markets toward balance. The national purpose-built vacancy rate hit 3.1% in CMHC's October 2025 survey, up from 2.2% a year earlier and above its ten-year average. By city, 2025 vacancy ran from 2.7% in Halifax to 5.0% in Calgary.
Demand. Canada's 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan holds permanent resident targets at 380,000 a year, cuts new international student arrivals to 155,000 in 2026, and aims to bring temporary residents below 5% of the population by the end of 2027. Fewer new arrivals means less pressure on the markets that had absorbed the most.
The cities still rising are largely the ones that built the least and had the furthest to catch up. Halifax's 2.7% vacancy is the tightest of the major centres — and Halifax and Dartmouth are the same housing market across a harbour.
What it means depending on which side you are on
If you are renting in a market that is falling — most of Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec — you have leverage you did not have in 2024. Landlord incentives, CMHC notes, have "intensified over the past six months." Ask.
If you are renting in Nova Scotia or Manitoba, you are in the minority of Canada where the pressure has not let up.
If you are a landlord anywhere, the more useful signal than the national average is your own building's lease-up time. Our Rent Index explainer covers how to benchmark a specific unit rather than a country.
One number to keep straight: asking rents on new listings are falling, but CMHC reports that rents on occupied units were still rising in Q1 2026, driven mostly by increases at turnover. Both are true at once. They measure different things.
FAQ
Which Canadian city has the biggest rent increase in 2026?
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, at 13.1% year over year as of July 2026 data, per the Rentals.ca August 2026 National Rent Report. Lloydminster (AB/SK) is second at 11.3%.
What is the average rent in Canada right now?
$2,037 per month across all property types as of July 2026, down 4.0% year over year, per the Rentals.ca August 2026 National Rent Report. That figure has risen slightly month over month for four consecutive months.
Which Canadian city has the cheapest rent?
Among markets in the August 2026 report, Fort McMurray ($1,313), Medicine Hat ($1,337) and Lloydminster ($1,338) had the lowest average asking rents. North Vancouver was the highest at $3,019.
Are rents rising or falling in Canada?
Both, depending where. Nationally asking rents are down 4.0% year over year, but Nova Scotia is up 4.5% and Manitoba up 1.5%. Month-over-month, the national figure has been rising since spring 2026.
What is Canada's rental vacancy rate?
3.1% for purpose-built apartments, from CMHC's October 2025 survey — up from 2.2% the previous year and above the ten-year average. CMHC has not published an updated national figure for 2026.
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Sources: Rentals.ca August 2026 National Rent Report · CMHC 2025 Rental Market Report · CMHC 2026 Mid-Year Rental Market Update · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan