August Rental Report: Nova Scotia Tops Canada for Condo Rents & Barrie Posts the Country’s Biggest Increase

If you’ve been watching Canada’s rental market, August brought another sign that asking rents are cooling.

The national average fell to $2,035, down 4.8% from a year earlier, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.

Credit: National Rent Report/ Rentals.ca

That marks the 23rd straight month of annual declines and the sharpest drop since March 2026. Rents also slipped 0.1% from July, breaking a run of four monthly increases, while the two-year decline has now reached 7%.

National rents move lower again

The average asking rent across all residential properties fell to $2,035 in August.
That was 4.8% lower year over year and the lowest August level since 2022.
Apartment and condo rents averaged $2,040, down 0.2% from July.
Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand said the seasonal lift seen in spring and summer has faded, while trade tensions have introduced fresh uncertainty around employment, consumer confidence and construction costs.

Purpose-built rentals hold up better

Purpose-built rental asking rents declined 3.3% annually to $2,038, making them the most resilient property type.
Three-bedroom purpose-built units slipped just 1.4% to $2,734.
Condo rents saw a much steeper 7.7% annual decline to $2,050.
Studio condo rents dropped 9.3%.
Houses, townhomes and other secondary-market rentals posted the largest decline, falling 8.3% to $2,014.

British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario lead annual declines

Among the largest provinces, British Columbia fell 4.6%, Alberta 4.3% and Ontario 3.5% year over year.
Nova Scotia rose 3.1%, while Manitoba increased 0.2%.
Nova Scotia remained Canada’s most expensive province for apartment and condo rents at $2,356, just ahead of British Columbia at $2,353.
On a monthly basis, Manitoba fell 1.5% and Nova Scotia declined 0.9%.

Ottawa and Vancouver rise month over month

Credit: National Rent Report/ Rentals.ca

Four of Canada’s six largest rental markets posted monthly increases.
Ottawa rose 1.1% to $2,168, while Vancouver climbed 1% to $2,704.
Montreal increased 0.8% to $1,955, and Edmonton rose 0.7% to $1,520.
Toronto slipped 0.3% to $2,570, while Calgary edged down 0.2% to $1,825.
Calgary posted the largest annual decline among the six major markets at 4.5%.

The most and least expensive markets

North Vancouver remained the most expensive market outside the six largest cities at $3,018, followed by Oakville at $2,684 and Richmond at $2,570.
At the other end, Fort McMurray averaged $1,277, Lloydminster $1,330 and Medicine Hat $1,345.
Barrie posted the largest annual increase at 14.3%, while Longueuil recorded the steepest decline at 12.5%.

National Rent Report