Here are the 15 Most Affordable Cities in Canada

A recent study by real estate firm Royal LePage has identified the 15 most affordable cities in Canada, and more than 50 percent of Canadians say they are open to the idea of moving to one of them.

The real estate firm lists Lethbridge, Alta., as Canada’s most affordable city. It took the top spot from Thunder Bay, Ont., which dropped to third on this year’s list.

Lethbridge has an average home price of $338,700 and a monthly mortgage payment of $1,520.85, which accounts for 18.9 percent of the province’s median household monthly income.

Thunder Bay now has an affordability factor of 20.3 percent, slightly below Saint John, N.B., which holds second place with 19.6 percent.

The affordability factor indicates the percentage of a household’s monthly earnings that is required for monthly mortgage payments, according to Royal LePage.

Lethbridge was not the only city from the Prairie province to secure a position in the top five. Red Deer, in the central part of the province, was fourth on the list, with an affordability factor of 24.9 percent, followed by Regina, Sask. in fifth with 25 percent.

The rest of the top 15 includes St. John’s, Nfld. and Edmonton, Alta., both with an affordability score of 26.3 percent.

Trois-Rivières, Que. was eighth with a score of 27.3 percent, followed by Fredericton, N.B., at 27.8 percent, and Winnipeg, Man., at 27.9 percent. Windsor-Essex, Ont., was in the 11th spot with 28.7 percent, followed by Saskatoon, Sask., at 28.8 percent, and Sherbrooke, Que. at 28.9 percent.

Moncton, N.B. scored 29.5 percent and Charlottetown, P.E.I. rounded out the top 15 at 30.6 percent.

The report employs data from Statistics Canada for 2024, along with city-level aggregate home price statistics from Royal LePage’s first-quarter 2026 house price survey to evaluate the affordability of each urban area.

Prices Moderating

Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper said home prices in Canada’s largest cities have moderated over the past couple of years, but the math still doesn’t work for many prospective buyers. The survey found that those living in Canada’s largest urban areas are open to moving to obtain a more affordable lifestyle, he noted.

Fifty-five percent of survey respondents currently living in the Greater Toronto Area, 48 percent in the Greater Montreal Area, and 46 percent in Greater Vancouver said they would consider relocating to one of the 15 most affordable cities.

The survey also found that 52 percent of respondents who rent their home say they would consider buying a primary residence in one of the 15 most affordable cities, if they were able to find a job locally or work remotely.

“As barriers to entry remain high in the country’s most expensive urban centres, relocating to a more affordable city is becoming less of a last resort and more of a deliberate strategy,” Soper said. “Aspiring homeowners who cannot secure a foothold in these markets are seriously weighing their options.”

Even cities outside the top 15 are becoming more affordable. The affordability of 61 of the 62 cities analyzed by Royal LePage between 2024 and 2026 improved, particularly in more expensive markets, the data show.

The cities that recorded the biggest declines in the share of income required for monthly mortgage payments were West Vancouver, Richmond, and North Vancouver in B.C., as well as Markham and Milton, both in the Greater Toronto Area.

Windsor-Essex recorded the largest increase in affordability among the 15 most affordable cities, with a 7.7 percent reduction in the proportion of household income spent on mortgage payments since 2024.