Newcomers keep choosing Toronto and Vancouver at nearly the same rate as they did five years ago, according to the latest Statistics Canada’s census data.
More than 40 per cent (41.2 per cent) of all recent immigrants settled in one of the two metropolitan areas every year since 2016.
What has changed is the cost of that choice.
bunq, a Netherlands-based digital bank that operates across Europe but does not offer accounts in Canada, included Canadian cities in its Working Abroad Index for the first time in September. The study examined the cost of living across 75 cities that attract “digital nomads.”
Researchers found that in nearly every expense category, Toronto and Vancouver are cheaper compared to international standards, but the cost of rent breaks the bank.
Vancouver had the seventh-lowest utility bills, below Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. Groceries, mobile data and utilities in both cities were much lower than what residents pay in Paris, Berlin and Madrid.
But rent consumed 71 per cent of a Vancouver resident’s monthly costs and renters in Toronto used 68 per cent of their expense costs on shelter, compared to 58 to 62 per cent in Berlin and Paris.
“Working abroad has stopped being a niche choice for only a handful of digital nomads,” said Joe Wilson, whose title at bung is Chief Evangelist.
“Our users move between countries for a season, a contract or a decade, and they expect their money to travel with them.”
According to the study, the two cities in Canada that attract the most newcomers are also the ones where affordability now depends on a single line item. Rent alone decides whether they can afford to stay.
“The purpose of this index is to put a number on a decision that millions of people are already weighing every year. In most of Europe, moving somewhere cheaper saves you a little on everything. In Canada, rent is basically the whole decision, which makes the math simple and the choice much more nuanced.”
According to a recent Rentals.ca analysis, a minimum-wage worker in Toronto needs to work 145 hours a month — nearly full time — to cover the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment. In Vancouver, those same renters work 150 hours to pay the cost of rent.
Typically, 160 to 170 hours is considered full-time work.
Rent isn’t just expensive for people comparing cities on a spreadsheet; it’s the dominant cost for everyone who doesn’t own their own home — and newcomers are more likely to rent.
Between 2011 and 2021, immigrant renter households grew more than twice as fast as immigrant owner households, meaning new arrivals are more exposed to a cost that keeps
High rent also impacts Canada’s temporary residents. TD Economics data shows non-permanent residents occupy rented housing at more than double the rate of Canadian-born residents. It takes immigrants five or six years before they own or rent at roughly the same rate as Canadian-born residents, according to the data.
The cost of this difference is retaining new Canadians.
Statistics Canada’s most recent figures show that 78.3 per cent of immigrants who arrived in Toronto in 2017 were still in the city five years later. That’s a drop of eight points compared to those who arrived a decade earlier. Many of those who left resettled in Oshawa and Hamilton, according to the study.
Vancouver’s retention rate held up somewhat better, dropping four points to 83.4 per cent.
The good news is that falling immigration numbers nationally are cooling the rental market, even as Toronto and Vancouver keep attracting their same share of a smaller immigrant pool.
TD Economics modelling shows that, had the inflow of immigrants nationally stayed at previous levels, rents across Canada would have climbed 5.5 per cent a year between 2025 and 2027.
The biggest effect would have been felt in B.C. and Ontario, which have the largest share of temporary foreign workers and students. By 2027, rent increases would have added about $1,100 a year to the average rent for a one-bedroom.
Rent’s share of monthly living costs
|
City |
Rent as % of total monthly costs |
|
Vancouver |
71% |
|
Toronto |
68% |
|
Paris |
62% |
|
Berlin |
58% |
Source: bunq Working Abroad Index 2026, Numbeo data as of July 2026
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Shilpashree Jagannathan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, New Canadian Media.
