Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

The average asking price of rent in Montreal has shot up nearly 71 per cent since 2019, according to a rent report released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday.

Since 2019, asking rent in the country's second-largest city has grown from $1,130 to $1,930 in the first quarter of 2025, the data agency said in its first-ever quarterly rent statistics report.

Elsewhere in Quebec, the cities of Drummondville and Sherbrooke — which had the lowest average asking rents at the start of this year — saw the biggest uptick in average asking rents for two-bedroom apartments since the first quarter of 2019.

The report draws from asking rents to illustrate the latest market trends, because "prospective renters typically face higher rents compared with long-term tenants" whose rents reflect past leases, the report said.

In the rest of Canada, the average asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment was highest in Vancouver, where the figure stood at $3,170 in the first quarter of 2025. It was followed by Toronto ($2,690), Victoria ($2,680) and Ottawa ($2,490).

Montreal ranks 17th on that list, according to Statistics Canada.