As Canadians look to the prairies for better living, some Ontario regions still feature affordable housing
Published November 11, 2024 at 4:40 pm
As the cost of living in most of Ontario continues to rise, many Canadians are looking to escape to the prairies for a better quality of life.
A report released this month by real estate watchdogs at RentCafe revealed that, while Ontario may provide viable living conditions for some, it still isn’t stopping many Canadians from looking to the middle provinces.
To understand shifts in national attitudes towards affordable living, RentCafe used internal data to dial into what Canadians are looking for.
The criteria for assessing the information was broken down into:
- The availability of apartments
- Number of listing views
- Number of listings saved as favourites
- Saved personalized searches
As a result, on a national scale, Winnipeg, MB, claims the top spot among the trending cities for renting in Canada, followed by Saskatoon, SK and Edmonton, AB.
However, despite these prairie cities holding the podium, data collected by RentCafe also indicated that Ontario still boasts four entries in the top 10 most desired cities to live in nationwide — which include:
- Winnipeg
- Saskatoon
- Edmonton
- Victoria
- Ottawa
- Regina
- Nanaimo
- Kingston
- London
- Niagara Falls
RentCafe further delved into why these Ontario-based markets remain in the crosshairs of would-be renters by looking at the prospects each city provided, beyond the base metric of affordable housing.
Ottawa famously bolsters a steady economy and a pool of government-adjacent jobs, while Kingston’s large student population coupled with its uptick in urban development makes it a desirable up-and-coming municipality to live in.
As for London and Niagara Falls, London remains affordable compared to other cities of its size, and Niagara Falls’s proximity to larger cities like Toronto, as well as the US border make it a go-to space for those looking to travel.
For more information on RentCafe’s study on Canadian rentals, visit their official website.
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