Canada's four most expensive cities to rent are in Metro Vancouver
Despite one of the country’s largest annual declines in apartment rents, Metro Vancouver is still home to the most expensive markets to rent in all of Canada.
According to the latest Rentals.ca and Urbanation report, which looks at numbers from May 2025, the region experienced a year-over-year drop in asking rent for one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites.
However, four of the top five most expensive cities to rent in Canada remain in the Metro Vancouver area.
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“Annual rent declines for apartments have occurred for 18 straight months in Vancouver,” Rentals.ca said in its report. “In Toronto and Vancouver, two-bedroom apartment rents fell the most in the past year, with declines of 10.7 per cent (to $2,957) and 7.3 per cent (to $3,456), respectively.”
According to Rentals.ca, North Vancouver is the most expensive municipality in Canada to rent in for the third month in a row, with the average asking rent for a one-bedroom rental reaching $2,620 per month and a two-bedroom rental hitting $3,578 per month.
Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Toronto round out the other five most expensive places to rent in the country.
Rentals.ca
The report also shows that the average asking rent for all residential properties across the country dropped to $2,129, a 3.3 per cent annual decline, and the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases.
“The easing in rents this year across most parts of the country is a positive for housing affordability in Canada following a period of extremely strong rent inflation lasting from 2022 to 2024,” said Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation.
“Rents have recently been impacted by the combination of a surge in supply from new apartment completions, as well as a slowdown in population growth and a heightened level of economic uncertainty.”
Construction cranes for residential towers in North Vancouver. (Adam Melnyk/Shutterstock)
Three other Metro Vancouver cities also cracked the top 30 priciest markets to rent in the country, including New Westminster at number 15, Langley at number 19, and Surrey at number 28.
Average asking rents in Canada remain 5.7 per cent higher than two years ago and 12.6 per cent higher than three years ago.