Canada welcomed a record breaking 405,000 new permanent residents in 2021 and is on track to reach its target of more than 431,000 new permanent residents in 2023.
All new spousal sponsorship applications are now processed within the pre-pandemic service standard of 12 months and new PR Express Entry applications within 6 months.
Most Popular Provinces
Ontario was the province with the most immigrants in 2022, with 227,235 immigrants arriving between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022. British Columbia and Quebec were a distant second and third respectively.
Business immigrants, financial experts and highly-skilled professionals desiring to immigrate to Canada now have a stronger reason to do so. S&P Global, an international credit rating agency, has reaffirmed the City of Toronto’s AA Credit rating with a positive outlook.
In reaffirming the City’s credit rating, S&P Global cited Toronto’s deep and diversified economy, and Council and senior leadership’s prudent financial management as the foundation of the City’s credit strength.
This is the City’s second credit rating affirmation from S&P Global this year and reflects the City’s prudent financial management, strong financial support from senior levels of government, and a deep and diversified economy – factors that have helped sustain its fiscal performance since the start of the pandemic.
Maintaining a high-quality credit rating provides the City with access to lower long-term borrowing costs for infrastructure investments for communities such as affordable housing, community centers, roads, transit, wastewater and water.
This ensures Toronto’s services for residents and businesses remain affordable and sustainable.
The cheapest and most expensive cities to rent an apartment in Canada
Rents and housing prices go in opposite directions
Immigrants coming to Canada from South Africa, Mexico, India, China, The Philippines, Nigeria, Ukraine and other parts of the world are now finding it more difficult to get affordable apartments to rent in the sizzling hot rental market.
One of the biggest questions most of these new immigrants are asking is where to find the cheapest rents in Canada.
The average rent for all property types across Canada has climbed to an all-time record of over $2,043 per month, representing an annual increase of 15.4%. The average rent for single-family homes in September 2022 was $3,014 per month, which is 12.1% higher than in September 2021.
Why are rents rising so fast in Canada?
Here are the 3 main reasons why rents are increasing rapidly,
- High interest and mortgage rates
An unintended consequence of falling prices house prices arising from the high interest rate is the increased pressure on rental housing.
Households who would have transitioned from rental to owned housing, have postponed the decision temporarily, resulting in greater pressure on rental markets.
- Another contributing factor is teleworking, which allowed many to work remotely from home during the pandemic. As a result, some workers gave up relatively smaller yet expensive leases near central employment hubs for cheaper and larger homes in smaller towns.
- New immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are pouring into Canada in greater numbers. Over 1.2 million new immigrants are expected to land in Canada over the next three years at the rate of 400,000 per year. “Emergency immigrants” and refugees will add to those numbers, and they will all require housing.
New immigrants will likely rent, not buy when landing in Canada.
The average cost to rent an apartment in order of most expensive to most affordable
| Rank | City/Area | 1 BED | Y/Y change |
| 1. | Vancouver, BC | $2,590 | 20.2% |
| 2. | Toronto, ON | $2,474 | 27.5% |
| 3. | Burnaby, BC | $2.292 | N/A |
| 4. | Oakville, ON | $2,178 | 10.2% |
| 5. | Burlington, ON | $2,165 | 18.7% |
| 6. | Victoria, BC | $2,148 | N/A |
| 7. | Etobicoke, ON | $2,137 | 19.3% |
| 8. | Guelph, ON | $2,052 | 20.3% |
| 9. | North York, ON | $2,022 | 18.0% |
| 10. | Brampton, ON | $2,019 | 24.4% |
| 11. | Mississauga, ON | $1,947 | 17.7% |
| 12. | Ottawa, ON | $1,909 | 17.7% |
| 13. | Vaughan, ON | $1,889 | 1.0% |
| 14. | Kitchener, ON | $1,888 | 24.7% |
| 15. | Markam, ON | $1,810 | 0.4% |
| 16. | London, ON | $1,810 | 38.8% |
| 17. | East York, ON | $1,795 | 9.8% |
| 18. | Barrie, ON | $1,788 | NA |
| 19. | Scarborough, ON | $1,733 | 7.0% |
| 20. | Halifax, NS | $1,711 | 8.7% |
| 21. | Hamilton, ON | $1,683 | 8.4% |
| 22. | Oshawa, ON | $1,665 | 12.0% |
| 23. | Surrey, BC | $1,650 | 17% |
| 24. | Calgary, AB | $1,629 | 29.0% |
| 25. | St. Catharines, ON | $1,595 | 15.8% |
| 26. | Gatineau, QC – French speaking | $1,561 | 7.1% |
| 27. | Napean | $1,550 | 1.1% |
| 28. | Montreal, QC – French speaking | $1,532 | 1.7% |
| 29. | Laval, QC – French speaking | $1,362 | 5.1% |
| 30. | Winnipeg, MB | $1,185 | 2.5% |
| 31. | Lethbridge, AB | $1,123 | 14.1% |
| 32. | Edmonton, AB | $1,073 | 5.1% |
| 33. | Fort Mcmurray, AB | $1,060 | -0.3% |
| 34. | Regina, SK | $1,010 | 3.2% |
| 35. | Saskatoon, SK | $980 | 8.8% |