B.C. rent decline leads Canadian jurisdictions in December

A new report shows steady declines in a number of cities, and the provincial government is taking credit for the trend.

The British Columbia government is crediting its anti-speculation policies with a decline in rental asking prices.

Rentals.ca says in its December report that B.C.’s average rent has fallen 6.8 per cent year-to-year to just short of an average monthly rental price of $2,400, the sharpest rate of decline among the regions measured in Canada.

Alberta saw a drop of 5.7 per cent to an average price of $1,775 in the same report, while Ontario’s average rent fell 3.8 per cent to just short of $2,300, but Saskatchewan saw a rise of 3.9 per cent to $1,490.

The report also showed Vancouver leading other major Canadian cities in rent decline, with a drop of 6.6 per cent year-to-year, just ahead of Calgary’s 6.5 per cent decrease.

The Ministry of Housing says the province’s rental asking prices for purpose-built and condominiums have fallen 8.5 per cent in the last two years, and rents in Vancouver have dropped more than 15 per cent from what was reported in December 2023.

Housing Minister Christine Boyle says in a statement that the province has focused on increasing supply and protecting tenant rights, and Rentals.ca says B.C. has increased its registered purpose-built rental homes by more than 55 per cent since last December.

Boyle says new legislation passed last month includes the implementation of more support for small-scale, multi-unit housing as well as improving the efficiency of restrictions on short-term rentals.

“We need to keep going on the progress we have made so we are not repeating the mistakes that drove housing costs beyond the reach of everyday people in British Columbia,” Boyle says in the statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 9, 2025.