Overview

• The budget watchdog’s index shows the gap between typical household buying power and average prices fell from 80% in September 2023 to 34% in August 2025.
• Halifax has the widest gap at 74%, while Edmonton sits lowest at 4%.
• Toronto and Hamilton recorded the largest improvements yet still sit well above affordable levels.
• Calgary, Montreal and Quebec City experienced the most deterioration, though mortgage carrying costs in those cities remain relatively low.
• With the Bank of Canada’s policy rate now at 2.5%, mortgage debt-service ratios improved in early 2025 toward 2019 levels, but households in Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria remain more exposed.