The average cost of rent in Montreal has increased by nearly 71 per cent since 2019, according to a rent report released by Statistics Canada. However, Vancouver remains the most expensive place to live in Canada.
The agency released its quarterly rent statistics on Wednesday, which found the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Canada’s second-largest city has shot up from $1,130 to $1,930 from 2019 to the first quarter of this year.
Despite the 70.8 per cent uptick, Montreal is still ranked the 17th-most expensive metropolitan area in Canada.
Nearby cities like Sherbrooke and Drummondville recorded some of the lowest average two-bedroom rents at $1,250 and $1,200, respectively.
The Vancouver census metropolitan area still ranked the highest, with an average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment at $3,170.
Toronto followed Vancouver at $2,690, then Victoria at $2,680 and Ottawa at $2,490.
“The CMAs with the highest average asking rents experienced slower relative growth from 2019 to the first quarter of 2025,” reads the Statistics Canada report.
“The Toronto CMA saw overall 5.1 per cent 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 climbing back up to a peak of $2,920 in the second half of 2023.
Since then, Toronto has seen average asking rents decrease by 5.6 per cent yearly.
“Vancouver followed a similar pattern as Toronto, although it experienced comparatively stronger growth,” it said.
“Average asking rent for two-bedroom apartments increased by 27.3 per cent from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2025 (from $2,490 to $3,170).”
Average asking rents in the Vancouver CMA began rising in early 2021 to reach a peak of $3,580 in the third quarter of 2023.
Since then, they’ve decreased by 7.8 per cent from the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of this year.