British Columbia : Alberta : Ontario : Quebec : New Brunswick : Nova Scotia : Newfoundland : Saskatchewan
See comparisons table.
Canada’s Provinces Compared
One of the major attractions of a move to Canada used to be the cost of housing compared with other western countries.
Newcomers to Canada – particularly from Europe, the UK and Australasia – traditionally enjoyed a double benefit when they bought property in Canada.
These advantages have lessened in recent years, because the Canadian dollar has strengthened, and real estate prices in Canada have risen.
In most parts of Canada, house affordability has improved in the last few years, though more than thirteen and eleven years of gross average wage is needed to purchase the average property in British Columbia and Ontario respectively.
Nevertheless, several of Canada’s provinces still have property prices that rank among the lowest in the western world. Property in New Brunswick is the most affordable relative to gross wages, followed by Newfoundland / Labrador and Saskatchewan.
In the table below, the higher the ranking, the more expensive are houses relative to wages.
Canadian House Affordability 2020
(Affordability measured by the number of years of gross average wage needed to buy an average house.)
| Province | Affordability Second Quarter 2020 |
Affordability Second Quarter 2018 |
Affordability Second Quarter 2016 |
Affordability Second Quarter 2014 |
Affordability Fourth Quarter 2012 |
Affordability Third Quarter 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | 13.4 | 14.7 | 13.9 | 12.0 | 11.2 | 11.5 |
| Ontario | 11.2 | 10.7 | 10.1 | 8.9 | 8.0 | 7.2 |
| Alberta | 6.0 | 6.6 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 6.8 | 6.7 |
| Quebec | 6.7 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 6.2 |
| Manitoba | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.3 |
| Saskatchewan | 5.0 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 5.3 |
| Nova Scotia | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.1 | 4.8 |
| Prince Edward Island | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 4.0 |
| Newfoundland / Labrador | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 5.3 |
| New Brunswick | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
| Canadian Average | 9.0 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 8.5 | 7.8 | 7.4 |
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