Average asking rents in Canada experienced a 2.3% year-over-year decline in December, reaching an average of $2,060, marking a full year of decreases and hitting their lowest point in 30 months. The latest report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation revealed that December 2025 marked the 15th consecutive month of decreasing average asking rents across Rentals.ca’s listing network.
Throughout the entire year, average asking rents in Canada dropped by 3.1% in 2025, surpassing the annual decrease witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite a 5.4% decline compared to two years ago, rents still stand 14.1% higher than pre-pandemic levels in December 2019.
Shaun Hildebrand, the president of Urbanation, noted that the factors that previously drove rents up between 2022 and 2024 have reversed, leading to the decline. Hildebrand attributed the rent decrease to factors such as an increase in apartment completions, a slowdown in population growth, economic uncertainty, and affordability challenges.
The report predicts that rents are likely to continue decreasing in the near future as these conditions persist. The decline in rents has been primarily led by secondary market units. Average asking prices for house and townhouse rentals dropped by 5% to $2,071 in December, while rents for condominium apartments fell by 4% to $2,131.
In terms of province-wide trends, average apartment rents in December saw a 5.4% decrease in British Columbia to $2,353 and a 3.2% decline in Ontario to $2,257. Alberta and Quebec also experienced decreases of 2.7% to $1,671 and 1.9% to $1,934, respectively. Conversely, average asking rents increased by 7.1% in Saskatchewan to $1,395, by 1.8% in Nova Scotia to $2,268, and by 1% in Manitoba to $1,633.
Among Canada’s six largest markets, Vancouver and Toronto witnessed the steepest annual rent decreases for apartments last month, with Vancouver dropping by 7.9% to $2,654 and Toronto by 5.1% to $2,498. Both cities saw their average asking rents hit their lowest levels since early 2022. Calgary’s average asking rents for apartments fell by 5% to $1,824, Montreal’s by 2.3% to $1,952, Ottawa’s by 0.5% to $2,153, and Edmonton’s increased by 0.8% to $1,518.