Is Canmore Experiencing a Housing Shortage?

Is Canmore experiencing a housing shortage? Ask a nurse at the hospital or a chef on Main Street and the answer is an immediate yes: rental vacancy is under 1%, median rent is $2,400, and the town’s own plan calls for 3,400 affordable homes it does not have. Ask a buyer scrolling 150 listings priced above $1 million and the answer looks like no. Both are right, and understanding why is the key to reading this market. The Canmore housing shortage is a shortage of homes residents can afford, sitting inside a town where a quarter of the housing stock is nobody’s primary residence.

Is there a housing shortage in Canmore?

For residents, yes, by every measure the Town and the region use. The 2023 municipal housing needs assessment reported rental vacancy at 0% across all unit sizes and 2022 median asking rents of $1,880 for a one-bedroom and $2,699 for a two-bedroom (Canmore Community Housing survey). By October 2025 the purpose-built vacancy rate had eased to 1.8% across 630 units (CMHC via CBC), the Town cites 0.9% market-wide, and median rent had reached a record $2,400, up $725 since 2022 (CBC, July 2026).

Rental vacancy, purpose-built

1.8%

October 2025, 630 units (CMHC via CBC); Town cites 0.9% overall

Median rent

$2,400

record high, 2026; +$725 since 2022 (CBC)

Homes not occupied by a permanent resident

≈ 25%

Town of Canmore; 26% per 2021 Census via CBC

Affordable homes needed by 2041

≈ 3,400

Bow Valley HNA via Town of Canmore

Living wage

$38.80 / hr

highest in Alberta

Active listings, August 2026

≈ 146–160

median ask $1.2M (REW)

Why a town with 9,173 dwellings has a shortage

The 2021 Census counted 9,173 private dwellings in Canmore and 6,804 occupied by usual residents (Town of Canmore community statistics). The difference: about 2,369 homes, 26% of the stock, is second homes, part-time residences, nightly rentals and vacant units. Those homes exist; they just do not house anyone who works here. The Bow Valley housing needs assessment projects the non-permanent population growing from 6,751 to 9,229 between 2022 and 2032, requiring 928 more dwelling units, a 37% increase in the absentee share of demand on top of what residents need.

Three forces pull housing away from residents:

• Second-home money. Income earned elsewhere outbids Canmore wages; the 2023 assessment describes remote workers and retirees absorbing “previously available homeownership and rental units at price points that local workers can’t afford.”
• Short-term rentals. 2,543 short-term rental listings were active in June 2026, up 5% year over year (CBC), concentrated in tourist-home and visitor-accommodation buildings.
• No land. Canmore cannot build its way out on greenfield land; the approved Three Sisters lands are the last major parcel. See why Canmore real estate is so expensive.

What is being done about it

The Town, Canmore Community Housing and the private sector are all moving, on different timelines:

The Livability Tax is smaller than planned. Council first expected $10.3 million a year from about 2,260 properties; after the province exempted any property with an Alberta resident on title, the base shrank to about 819 properties and $4.4 million (CBC, July 2026): enough for a project every few years, not 3,400 homes by 2041. The Livability Tax guide covers who pays.

Three Sisters Village: the supply that matters

The one change big enough to move the numbers is the Three Sisters Mountain Village build-out. Phase one, 700 to 1,075 units on 29.1 hectares including townhomes, stacked townhomes, apartments and tourist homes, with 400-plus rental units and at least 10% affordable (up to 20% with density bonusing): began completing in 2026, with five further phases and up to about 7,000 homes for 15,000 people over decades (Rocky Mountain Outlook, CBC). Against a town of about 6,800 occupied dwellings, that is transformative for the rental and entry-level market and slow for everything else. The Three Sisters Village page and the new developments page track phases and pricing.

What it means for the market

The shortage supports rents and entry-level prices; it does not support the top of the market, which is set by out-of-town buyers and was loosening through 2026. Expect continued pressure on rents until Three Sisters Village and the non-market projects deliver at scale, continued policy attention on second homes and short-term rentals, and a gradual shift of tourist-home units into the resident pool as owners convert before the fee waiver ends. The first-time buyers guide explains Vital Homes eligibility, and the market overview tracks inventory monthly.

What this means if you’re buying

If you are a resident or a worker, the Canmore housing shortage is real and the tools built for you: Vital Homes, secondary suites, residential condos under $700,000, are competitive; get on the CCH waitlist and get pre-approved. If you are a market buyer, 2026 is a year of choice at the top and softness in condos, so negotiate, and understand that the town’s policy direction is toward occupied homes: a long-term tenant, or your own primary residence, is the position the rules reward.