Saguenay, Quebec. Right: Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
Finding housing in Canada can be complicated and expensive, regardless of whether you're looking to buy or rent your home
And, although it is still possible to find cheap rent in Canada, you might have to be prepared to move to find it.
A new report by real estate company Point2Homes found that Canada does indeed have several cities that you can live in for below $1,000 a month, as both a homeowner and a renter. However, the catch is that they're almost all in Quebec.
In fact, eight of Canada's top ten cheapest cities to rent are all located in Quebec, which means you might have to brush up on your French if you're not already a local.
According to the report, if you're not looking to take on a mortgage, the city in Canada with the most affordable average rental rates is Trois-Rivières with an average monthly rent of $676.
After that comes Saguenay ($689 per month on average) and Sherbrooke ($760 on average).
Following them, the other places on the list are Lévis ($892), Quebec City ($904), Longueuil ($907), Gatineau ($968), Montreal ($969), St. John's, NL ($988) and Terrebonne ($991).
If you're a homeowner, the top three cheapest places to own are identical to the cheapest places to rent
In Trois-Rivières the average monthly cost of owning a home is $956. That goes up to $1,054 in Saguenay and then to $1,096 in Sherbrooke.
After those cities, homeowners can expect to pay about $1,148 in Lévis, $1,169 in Windsor, ON, $1,195 in Quebec City, $1,261 in Longueuil, $1,286 in Gatineau, $1,306 in St. Catherines, ON, and $1,1326 in Winnipeg.
On top of finding the cheapest places to live in Canada, the report also found that it is only about 24% more expensive per month – which translates to about $289 more – to own your home rather than rent it.
While it sounds like homeowners don't pay a whole lot more each month to own their properties, they're also spending less of their income.
According to Point2Homes' report, the majority of homeowners currently spend less than 30% of their income on housing in Canada, while renters are spending 67% of their income.
On top of that, the amount of renters in Canada has gone up by three times in the last ten years, showing that homeownership is becoming less common.
It's not all bad news, though. Canadians struggling to afford home expenses, whether they're renters or homeowners can get support via the federal government's housing support program, which was launched in 2022.
Those in need of support can also get payments at a provincial level to subsidize shelter costs.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
