TORONTO, ON, July 20, 2026 — A new regional breakdown of the Rentals.ca Spring Renter Preference Survey finds that in every major Canadian market, the majority of renters are budgeting below current asking rents — with the gap widest in Vancouver and Toronto.
The analysis, drawn from 1,194 survey responses collected in Spring 2026, reveals that while high rent prices remain the top challenge for renters coast to coast, the experience of searching for a rental varies significantly depending on where Canadians are looking to live.
BC/Vancouver renters reported the highest budgets of any region surveyed, with 38% targeting $2,000 or more per month. Yet Vancouver's average asking rent is $2,715 — well above even the most generous renters' budgets. In Toronto, asking rents average $2,537, while only 32% of GTA renters are budgeting $2,000 or more. Calgary comes closest to budget alignment among major markets, with average asking rents at $1,820, though most Alberta respondents are budgeting under $1,500.
Price expectations also diverge sharply by region. 34% of GTA renters expect prices to decline in the next six months. London, Ontario, leads all individual cities at 40%. Alberta renters are the most pessimistic, with nearly half expecting prices to keep rising — despite having some of the lowest rents in the country.
Key Regional Findings:
- 38% of BC/Vancouver renters are budgeting $2,000 or more per month, the highest of any market. while Vancouver's average asking rent of $2,715 outpaces even the most generous budgets.
- 34% of Toronto/GTA renters expect prices to decline in the next six months, the highest of any major market. London, Ontario, leads all individual cities at 40%, while Ottawa renters are among the most pessimistic in the province, with 44% expecting prices to rise further.
- Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge renters are among the most financially stretched in Ontario, with 38% budgeting $2,000 or more — matching Ottawa and Vancouver — and 41% moving specifically to find something more affordable. 49% of Alberta renters are moving specifically to find something more affordable — the highest of any region — despite Alberta having the lowest rents in the country.
- Hamilton is the most budget-constrained Ontario market surveyed, with no respondents budgeting above $2,000 per month and 82% citing high rent as their biggest challenge.
- Atlantic Canada renters are among the most bearish in the country, with 57% expecting rents to increase and 95% identifying high rent prices as their biggest challenge — the highest rate of any market surveyed.
- Roughly half of renters in BC, Manitoba, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada are unsure whether rent control applies to their search, pointing to a significant policy awareness gap outside Ontario.
For more information and rental market data, read the full report on Rentals.ca, or reach out to media@rentals.ca.
The Rentals.ca Spring Renter Preference collected responses from 1,194 renters across Canada in Spring 2026. Respondents were asked about their current rental search, housing preferences, household composition, income, budget, and attitudes toward the rental market. The survey was distributed nationally with the strongest representation from Toronto/GTA, Ontario outside the GTA, Vancouver/BC, Winnipeg/Manitoba, and Calgary/Alberta.