Calgary top non-Ontario destination for families leaving Toronto

Outside of several other regions outside the GTA, Torontonians are choosing Calgary as the place to move to for affordable housing. (Canadian Press photos)

More than 35,000 households left the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in the past year, and many of those people are settling in Calgary.

New data shows about three per cent of those departing the GTA relocated to Calgary—approximately 2,500 families—making it the top non-Ontario destination for former residents.

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The data compares household movement from the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, and was compiled by Environics Analytics, a marketing and analytical services company owned by Bell Canada.

Experts say affordability, particularly the search for more space, is a major factor driving younger individuals and growing families to seek a lower cost of living outside the GTA.

“Certainly the costly housing market in the GTA is going to be a driver,” said Rupen Seoni, chief client officer at Environics Analytics. “Part of it, though, is just going to be economic opportunities. People are going to have opportunities across the country that will move them to other places.”

He adds that some of the migration involves people who initially immigrated to the GTA and later moved to other cities such as Calgary, Edmonton, or Vancouver.

According to the report, the top destination for former GTA residents was Simcoe County, accounting for 10.4 per cent of movers (3,651 households), followed by Hamilton, Ont. (3.2 per cent), Calgary, AB (3.1 per cent), Waterloo, Ont. (2.9 per cent), Greater Vancouver (2 per cent) and Niagara Region (1.9 per cent).

Calgary home prices and inventory

The influx of movers comes as Calgary’s housing market shows more balanced conditions, with its benchmark price for all housing types sitting around $568,000 in October.

The October home sales data, released on Monday, marks the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year benchmark price declines in the city.

The biggest declines were seen in higher-density properties, with apartment condos experiencing the largest drop at seven per cent year-over-year.

The benchmark price for single-family detached homes remained more stable, falling about one per cent year over year to $744,400.

Overall, sales fell 13 per cent year over year but picked up slightly from September. A decrease in listings also helped reduce inventory month over month by nearly eight per cent.

However, inventory increased by 30 per cent from 2024, meaning availability in the city remains high, near the national average.

With files from CTV Toronto