The most expensive cities for rent in Canada

As rents decline across Canada, Mississauga continues to be one of the most expensive places to live.

Average asking rents for all residential property types in Canada dropped 3.2 per cent in 2024, reaching a 17-month low of $2,109 in December, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

In Mississauga, one-bedroom apartments dropped 4.6 per cent to $2,263 from December 2023 to December 2024, according to the report. Two-bedroom places fell 2.1 per cent to $2,691.

There was a small decline month-over-month with one-bedrooms dropping .7 per cent and two-bedroom apartments falling 1.6 per cent.

Mississauga is still the fourth most expensive place to rent in Canada. A one-bedroom place in Toronto is slightly higher at $2,360, and rents in Burnaby and Vancouver are $2,366 and $2,512 respectively.

In Ontario, rents experienced the steepest provincial decline in Canada, down 4.7 per cent annually to $2,332, driven by decreases in one- and two-bedroom units, according to the report.

The report noted rent declines in 2024 across Canada but this follows rent growth of 8.6 per cent in 2023 and 12.1 per cent in 2022.

Despite the recent drop, rents remain up 16.8 per cent over the past five years, or an average of 3.15 per cent annually, the report found.

“The rental market softened across most parts of the country last year following record-breaking growth in 2022 and 2023 and amid multi-decade highs for apartment completions, slowing population inflows, and a weakening economy,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation.

It’s not clear if rents will continue to decline this year.

“Current trends suggest rents may experience further decreases in 2025, which so far have been focused on secondary market units,” said Hildebrand. “However, any rent declines should be temporary and remain minimal mostly due to a long-term undersupply of rental units in the country, with rents set to accelerate in the coming years as the current slowdown in construction works to restrict supply.”

See the full report here.

Lead photo: Expect Best