Using average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment as a proxy, renting a place to live in Alberta’s four largest metro areas is less expensive than in a lot of other Canadian cities. This finding is from a new data series released last week by Statistics Canada that allows us to compare asking rents across cities and over time.

For example, if you were making a move from Calgary to Vancouver, you would need to come up with an extra $1,250 per month to rent a two-bedroom apartment. If you were heading to the Ontario part of Ottawa-Gatineau, the gap is smaller, but still significant at $570.

As we’ve noted before, the relative affordability of housing in Alberta (including lower average resale home prices than in places like Toronto and Vancouver), has been an important driver of interprovincial migration and helps explain the province's above-average population growth.  

Relatively more affordable, however, doesn’t necessarily mean affordable for everyone, with rent in Alberta’s four largest metros up by between 21% and 33% compared to the start of 2022. But this upward trend has, at least for now, been arrested with rent down in three of Alberta’s four largest metros compared to a year ago.  

As the red-hot pace of housing starts in Alberta increases supply (including more rental units), this will put downward pressure on rent prices. And, while Alberta’s population continues to grow faster than in the country as a whole, we expect that growth to be slower than the previous two years, primarily due to declines in the temporary resident population.

At the same time, we expect Alberta’s economy to fare relatively well during this trade war, and Alberta’s affordability advantage should keep demand for housing high.

All told, we expect an eventual pick up in rents, but a slower pace of growth than observed in recent years.*

Happy Canada Day!  The Twenty-Four will return on Wednesday.

*The latest (February) forecast from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) called for slowing rent growth in Calgary and Edmonton, but continued gains.  The CMHC forecast now looks a bit too strong for 2025 given year-to-date weakness, particularly in Calgary.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The maple leaf flag became the official Canadian flag in 1965.

Today’s trivia question: Who was the first Canadian female astronaut?