Looking for a place to rent can be quite stressful and very expensive.

According to a new report, big cities are not the only places in Canada being hit with rent hikes. Canada’s prairie provinces, including Saskatchewan, are seeing increases too.

“What we have found from this latest report was that Saskatchewan rents on average, are $1,461 month, which is a 4 per cent increase year over year,” said Giacomo Ladas, the associate director of communications for Rentals.ca.

The report, which was released by Rentals.ca, shows rent in Saskatchewan continues to rise.

“Every month, Rentals.ca does a national weather report, where we look at municipal, provincial and national levels of asking rents,” he said.

“Saskatchewan has been the last remaining hope where we’ve seen rental increases continuing to go higher and higher. Alberta rents are down three per cent. Canada, as a whole, is down about one per cent, but Saskatchewan is a three per cent increase,” Ladas added.

The average rental price in Saskatchewan is sitting around $1,400 per month for any unit type, making it the most affordable province to rent in.

Ladas said prices have risen over the last three years.

“Rents right now in Saskatchewan are about 28.5 per cent higher than they were three years ago. They’re about two per cent higher than two years ago. So, just shows how quickly rents escalated, especially the prairie provinces.”

On Tuesday in the legislative building, speaking to the media, NDP MLA April ChiefCalf said the province needs to implement rent control.

“What I want to make sure people understand is rent control does not mean that landlords can never increase rent, because I think that’s the first misconception about rent control. What it does mean is that rent can be stabilized so that tenants aren’t suddenly being told their rent is going up 12 per cent this year or 30 per cent this year, and they’re not able to afford that,” she explained.

“It’s getting harder to own a home and make rent, and it’s in large part a result of bad choices from our governments,” ChiefCalf added.

The NDP said they have been hearing most from seniors and post-secondary students who have been struggling.

“We had met with some seniors in Saskatoon. An elderly couple in their 70s, and they both had to take on part time work. They’re working in fast food restaurants because of their pensions. They can’t afford their rent.”

“One of the most effective ways to deal with rising rent is to increase the supply of rental housing. The Saskatchewan Secondary Suite Incentive provides up to 35 per cent of the cost to build a new secondary suite to increase the availability of rental units,” the Government of Saskatchewan said in a statement to CTV News.

In the first eight months of this year, the government said urban housing increased by 49.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

“Our government is taking action to address housing affordability through a variety of other measures. The Saskatchewan Housing Benefit offers a flat monthly benefit to eligible renters that have low to moderate incomes and pay a high proportion of their household income on rent and utility costs.”

Additionally, the 2025-26 budget invests $88.4 million to ensure rent-ready social housing units are available across the province.”