A Ranking Of The Cheapest Canadian Cities For Renters Dropped & Ontario Just Sounds Like Hell
Nine of the top 10 cities are in Quebec.
Residential towers in downtown Toronto with the CN Tower visible in the background.
Quebec is the clear winner and Ontario is the loser in a ranking of the cheapest Canadian cities for renters. The ranking of renter costs by the site Point2 is based on 2021 census data from the country's 50 most populous cities and includes evaluations of rent, heating, electricity and water prices.
Cities in Quebec dominate the top 10, all of them with costs under $1,000/month in 2021, according to Point2. Conversely, Toronto cities occupy eight of the bottom 10 spots.
Trois-Rivières topped Point2's list with an average monthly cost of $676 in 2021. Saguenay ($689), Sherbrooke ($760), Lévis ($892), Quebec City ($904), Longueuil ($907), Gatineau ($968) and Montreal ($969) followed.
With monthly renter costs averaging $988 in 2021, St. John's, Newfoundland, was the first non-Quebec city in the ranking. It slightly edged out the Montreal suburb of Terrebonne ($991). Laval was eleventh ($1,003).
The first Ontario entry in the ranking was the greater Sudbury area ($1,037), in 12th.
On the flip side, the list of the Canadian cities with the highest costs for renters is like an inventory of Toronto suburbs. Oakville led with an average monthly cost of $2,146 in 2021, more than double that of Montreal and triple that of Trois-Rivières.
Next, in descending order, were Vaughn ($2,048), Milton ($2,042), Richmond Hill ($1,916), Markham ($1,890) and Burlington ($1,706). Richmond ($1,672) and Vancouver ($1,660) were the only bottom 10 entries outside Ontario. Sandwiched between them was Ajax, with an average monthly cost of ($1,662). Mississauga ($1,650) rounded out the bottoms.