Ottawa renters got an odd bit of news this week: while rents are falling almost everywhere else in Canada, they are still climbing here. The city's average asking rent rose 1.1 per cent month over month to $2,168 in August 2026, according to the latest National Rent Report from Rentals.ca and Urbanation.
How Ottawa Compares Nationally
Across the country, the picture is the opposite. The national average asking rent for residential properties edged down to $2,035 in August, a 4.8 per cent year-over-year decline and the 23rd straight month of annual decreases. Ottawa is bucking that broader downward trend: on a year-over-year basis, the city's average asking rent is down just 1.6 per cent, a far smaller drop than most other large Canadian markets are seeing. Only Montreal posted a smaller annual decline, at 1.1 per cent, with Toronto close behind at 1.4 per cent. Ottawa's 1.6 per cent puts it among the most resilient rental markets in the country, at least by this measure.
Where Other Cities Stand
Toronto and Calgary were the only major Canadian rental markets to actually post monthly rent declines in August. Toronto's average asking rent slipped 0.3 per cent to $2,570, while Calgary's fell 0.2 per cent to $1,825. Ottawa moved in the opposite direction that month, with its 1.1 per cent increase standing out against a national backdrop where most big cities are either flat or falling.
What's Pulling Rents Down Elsewhere
Nationally, purpose-built rental buildings, the kind constructed specifically to be rented rather than converted from condos, are doing more of the work to bring prices down. Average asking rents in that segment fell 3.3 per cent year over year to $2,038 across Canada, outperforming other parts of the rental market. The report also points to a new source of uncertainty ahead: trade war escalation is emerging as a fresh risk factor for the rental market going forward, one that could complicate any further softening in prices.
Why It Matters for Ottawa
For tenants here, the takeaway is straightforward. Ottawa's rent isn't falling the way Toronto's or Calgary's is, and the modest month-over-month increase in August suggests the local market isn't loosening the way national headlines about falling rents might imply.
Earlier This Month
This follows ottown's earlier report on what it actually costs to live in Ottawa, which put a one-bedroom apartment at $2,800 to $4,100 a month depending on the city as part of a broader national cost-of-living breakdown. Together, the two reports point the same direction: Ottawa's affordability picture isn't improving as quickly as some other major Canadian cities.
Sources: REMI Network, Rentals.ca Newsroom
