Moncton tops renter demand again as Toronto sits at record low

Moncton, N.B., is Canada’s most in-demand rental market for the fifth straight quarter, while Toronto sits at No. 22 of 25 cities, matching its lowest position on record, according to RentCafe’s Canada Renter Interest Report for the third quarter of 2026. For the second quarter in a row, none of the country’s largest cities made the top 10.

The quarterly ranking by RentCafe.com, the apartment-search site owned by Yardi, scores 25 Canadian cities on four measures of renter activity on its platform: how scarce listings are, how often listings are viewed, how many are saved as favourites and how many searches renters save. It is based on millions of renter interactions on the site from July to September.

Why Moncton keeps winning

Moncton scored a perfect 100 and ranked first nationally for page views, favourites and saved searches. Favourited listings rose 60 per cent from a year earlier and available listings fell 13 per cent. Moncton and Hamilton were the only two cities where browsing grew year over year. Moncton has now led in six of the nine quarters RentCafe has published, including the last five, the longest streak since the ranking began.

Yardi data cited in the report helps explain it: New Brunswick posted the strongest new-lease rent growth of the nine provinces Yardi tracks, up 3.7 per cent, and the lowest provincial vacancy rate, at 2.2 per cent.

Victoria and Oshawa climb

Victoria rose to No. 2, its best placement on record, as available listings fell 57 per cent from a year earlier. Oshawa, Ont., made the biggest jump, climbing 11 places to No. 8 and returning to the top 10 for the first time since late 2024. Favourited listings there rose 129 per cent, and more of the interest in Oshawa apartments came from Toronto renters than from Oshawa residents, RentCafe found.

Ontario placed four cities in the top 10, Hamilton, Kitchener, Oshawa and Windsor, matching its record from the previous quarter. Kitchener reached its highest ranking yet at No. 5. Regina fell eight places to No. 18 and dropped out of the top 10 after six quarters.

Why Toronto and Vancouver rank so low

Renters in the big cities have more choice and are searching less. In Toronto, available listings rose 34 per cent from a year earlier, while page views fell 54 per cent, favourites 27 per cent and saved searches 57 per cent. Vancouver slipped three places to No. 16, Calgary fell four to No. 21 and Montreal climbed two to No. 23. Edmonton, at No. 14, is now the highest-ranked large city, passing Vancouver for the first time since the third quarter of 2025.

The wider market is cooling. Yardi’s Canadian National Multifamily Report, cited by RentCafe, put the national vacancy rate at 4.7 per cent in the third quarter, unchanged, and in-place rents grew just 1.7 per cent to $1,790, the smallest increase since Yardi began tracking in 2020. Winnipeg, at 2.6 per cent, and Halifax, at 2.7 per cent, had the lowest vacancy rates among major markets; Calgary, at 5.9 per cent, had the highest. For asking rents from a different source, see our report on asking rents falling for a 25th month.

Frequently asked questions

Which Canadian city has the highest rental demand right now?

Moncton, N.B., ranked No. 1 of 25 cities in RentCafe’s Q3 2026 Renter Interest Report, its fifth straight quarter on top.

Where does Toronto rank for renter interest?

Toronto ranked No. 22 of 25 in the third quarter of 2026, matching its lowest position on record, as listings rose 34 per cent and renter engagement fell.

Source: RentCafe.com, Canada Renter Interest Report, Q3 2026, research by the RentCafe team, with rent and vacancy figures from the Yardi Canadian National Multifamily Report.