A new report from Zumper revealed that rental rates have increased significantly in Canada, with the average rising across the country by a double-digit percentage, and no city was exempt.

Among all the cities that witnessed high rents, Calgary ranked first, with a huge increase of 39% for one-bedroom apartments.

Meanwhile, Vancouver in British Columbia is currently the most expensive city in Canada in terms of housing rental costs, where the rent for a one-bedroom rose by 2% to reach $2550, while the cost of two-bedroom units reached $3600 per month, an increase of 19.2% since 2022.

Toronto comes in second place, where the rent for a one-bedroom increased by 2.2% to $2350 per month, followed by Burnaby, Victoria, and Kelowna with rates of $2300, $2060, and $1910 respectively.

It is also noted that between 2016 and 2021, Canada experienced a large influx of immigrants who chose permanent residence, and this record wave of settlers has significantly reduced housing options.

This new number of residents leads to increased demand and competition for housing as well, and with rising interest rates, many consumers remain in the rental market longer, which reduces vacancy rates and places upward pressure on rental prices.