In July, the average monthly cost to rent a property across Canada was $1,934 — up 10.4 per cent from last year, according to data from real estate listings firm Rentals.ca. A similar increase in June saw the average rent rise by 9.5%. Analysts say the steep prices are being driven by more demand than inventory. And that demand is driven in part by some people leaving the biggest cities, while others flock to them. This creates a challenge for people like Joan Alexander. The elderly man has rented houses across Canada, in St. Catharines, Ont., and Guelph, Ont., then Castlegar, BC, and the last two years on Prince Edward Island. Joan Alexander, left, sits with her dog Beau and her partner Elizabeth Huether. They plan to move from PEI to Lloydminster this October. (Submitted by Joan Alexander ) Alexander and her partner chose Summerside, a town about 50 kilometers northwest of Charlottetown, for its small-town feel. But rising rent costs and other issues — such as proximity to health care — are prompting her to relocate. “We were really hoping that PEI would be our last stop on the trip of a lifetime,” he said.
Last year, rents in PEI rose higher than they had in a decade. In addition, rental places are scarce. Finding affordable rental housing in Canada after a pandemic is proving challenging for many, with rising interest rates, inflation and limited rental inventory. Ben Myers, president of Bullpen Research and Consulting, a real estate consulting firm that tracks rental prices in Canada, says if you’re looking for a deal, there are still some places he’d describe as relatively “cheap.” He suggests looking at Red Deer or Lethbridge in Alberta or Saskatoon. “You can get a two-bedroom for less than $1,150 a month. All you have to do is where you can work,” Myers said. Alexander says she managed to find some shelters in the Meadows. “It felt almost too good to be true. It seemed like there were some pockets where we could find what we were looking for. Pet-friendly, affordable, safe housing,” said Alexander, who needs follow-up after donating a kidney and a place that welcomes her little, beloved dog — Beau. Lloydminster — a city that straddles Alberta and Saskatchewan — attracted Alexander and her husband with affordable prices and a pet-friendly property owner. They are moving in October to their new home for $1,200 a month. WATCHES | Estimated by rent increase:

Prices are rising leaving some tenants priced out

While the housing market may be cooling, the rental market is on fire, with the price of an average unit up 10 percent compared to last year. This has left many tenants scrambling to find suitable accommodation. Rentals.ca listings include single-family and semi-detached homes, townhouses, condominiums, rental apartments and basement apartments. The company cannot provide an average rent for all cities. Some smaller communities don’t have enough rentals to get an accurate average. So it’s worth the hunt. There are some hidden gems. Myers says that in a normal year, rent can average three to five percent. But average rents rose 10 to 12 percent in 2019 because of a lack of supply, he says. Then the pandemic hit and the rent dropped, on average, 15 to 20 percent. “We are now adjusting back to pre-pandemic levels,” Myers said.

Tenants on the go

Then there are the hyper-expensive anomalies — like Vancouver, which recovered even faster from the pandemic, with a median monthly rent of $2,300 in June 2022. Myers says there have also been significant shifts to cities that enjoyed low rent, as some people migrate to smaller places where they can get more real estate for their dollar. Baby Boomers retiring from the Toronto area are creating demand and driving up prices in places like the Niagara Region and Halifax, for example. “Halifax has gone nuclear. Certainly a lot of Ontarians moved to Halifax during the pandemic,” Myers said. He also says many students stayed in their university cities such as Victoria, London, Ont. and Kingston, Ont., when offices were closed in the past two years. “All of the benefits of living in a big city were almost negative because you didn’t want to be around a lot of people during a pandemic,” Myers said.

Affordable rents are disappearing

But all that change has only put more pressure on the rental market, which has seen declines in rental options for low-income people for more than a decade, according to housing policy researcher Steve Pomeroy. It uses Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data to investigate losses in the rental market. Rents can average three to five percent, says one expert. But when the pandemic hit they fell, on average, 15 to 20 percent. (CBC) Pomeroy, the senior research fellow at the Center for Urban Research at Carleton University, estimates that between 2011 and 2016, the number of rental units that would be affordable for households earning less than $30,000 a year — with rents under $750 — dropped by 322,600 in Canada. This impacts one in three Canadians who rent, according to 2016 census data. Pomeroy says Quebec has historically offered the largest rental inventory available in the country. “Quebec has always been very culturally diverse. The rent is much more culturally acceptable. It’s a little bit about the European influence… You get these very picturesque estates of two-story, three-story houses with the wrought-iron staircase and three units, and two are So by definition, two-thirds of your population are renters,” he said. He says it may be time for the rest of Canada to consider a more European model, where renting is more acceptable. He says there are many cities, in France and Germany for example, where renters almost match owners in population. North America has historically had a different culture where ownership is considered better. “Traditionally there’s been very strong support for home ownership. Here in Canada we’ve had mortgage insurance, including increasing access to credit for buyers … the political system has really reinforced that belief system, that home ownership is the right thing to do.” But now, rental and anti-poverty organizations are pushing for more rights for renters. This is something Pomeroy sees as a positive change. He also says he believes many younger Canadians see renting as their future. It gives them the freedom to pursue experiences, commute for work and not be tied down to a property they can’t afford. Pomeroy recently asked his graduate students—all working and in their 20s—if they thought they would be able to buy a home in the next five years. Would you like; He says he was surprised when he first heard, none of them believed he could. “Nobody believed it could, and only about half wanted it.” Historically, Quebec has had the largest available rental stock in the country, like this Montreal building we saw in May, complete with a wrought-iron staircase and a communal garden. (Ivanoh Demers/Radio-Canada)