Why is Montréal cheaper than Toronto?

A larger rental share, tighter rent regulation, slower price growth and a smaller foreign-buyer flow. Different market, not a discount on the same one.

Can I raise the rent after buying?

Only within what the Tribunal will support. Buying with a plan to reset rents to market is the most common and most expensive mistake here.

Canada · CAD

Montréalreal estate

Montréal runs on Québec civil law: a notaire closes the sale, the droit de mutation is the “welcome tax”, and the plex — duplex, triplex, sixplex — is the signature asset.

Toronto Vancouver Calgary Ottawa Edmonton

Land titles path

Reserve fund checked

3D map

2×land transfer tax inside the City of Toronto

0%land transfer tax in Alberta

FINTRACsource-of-funds KYC on every closing

Stratareserve fund and depreciation report decide the deal

What a purchase really costs

$900,000 home in Montréal

Land transfer tax (1.5%): $13,500
Lawyer, title insurance & disbursements (≈0.4%): $3,600
Inspection & appraisal (≈0.15%): $1,350
Cash needed at closing: $918,450

≈ +2.1% over the price. Land transfer tax is provincial and, in Toronto, charged twice — once by Ontario and once by the city. Alberta charges none at all and takes registration fees instead. The rates are banded, so the percentages here are effective rates at the sample price, not a flat levy. Foreign-buyer prohibitions and provincial surtaxes have changed more than once — read the statute in force on your closing date.

Rentals run on rules

The rent side, in three lines

Rent increase guidelines are provincial and annual — Ontario publishes a percentage, British Columbia publishes its own, Alberta publishes none.
Deposit rules differ sharply: Ontario allows last month’s rent, British Columbia allows a half-month security plus a half-month pet deposit.
Empty-home and speculation taxes apply in Vancouver, Toronto and across Metro Vancouver — an overseas lock-up is not a free hold.

In a condo the reserve fund study is the yield. A special assessment outranks every projection in the brochure.

Cities

Six metros, ten provincial rulebooks

Canada devolves the transaction to the province. Toronto stacks a municipal tax on the Ontario one; Alberta charges neither. The same price closes very differently in Calgary and in the 416.

Québec is the province where a notaire, not a solicitor, executes the deed. The droit de mutation is banded and municipal, with Montréal adding upper brackets above the provincial scale.

The plex stock is the reason yields here read differently from Toronto: owner-occupied ground floor, rented upper units, and a rent-fixing regime at the Tribunal administratif du logement that constrains increases and makes vacancy assumptions hard to justify.

A tenant in Québec has strong security of tenure. Repossessing a unit for personal use is a legal process with notice periods and compensation, not a notice on the door.

FAQ

Why is Montréal cheaper than Toronto?: A larger rental share, tighter rent regulation, slower price growth and a smaller foreign-buyer flow. Different market, not a discount on the same one.
Can I raise the rent after buying?: Only within what the Tribunal will support. Buying with a plan to reset rents to market is the most common and most expensive mistake here.

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