Moving on up: Victoria ranked 4th in Canada for growth

Moving on up: Victoria ranked 4th in Canada for growth

Published 3:30 pm Monday, January 19, 2026

Canadians are packing up and heading to Victoria, judging from the number of rented moving vans and trailers dropped off in the city during 2025.

The U-Haul growth index ranked Victoria fourth for Canadian growth cities. U-Haul customers arriving in Victoria accounted for 52.2% of all one-way traffic in and out of the city proper last year (47.8% leaving).

Compared to 2024, U-Haul customers coming to Victoria rose 8% year-over-year while departures fell 1%. Those numbers helped Victoria climb back onto the top-25 charts after dropping out of its No. 18 ranking in 2023.

“People have really started moving back here in waves after COVID,” said Michelle Benson, U-Haul Company of Vancouver & Vancouver Island president, in a release. “There is also a military base in Victoria, CFB Esquimalt, and that brings in a lot of people depending on what the military is doing.

“A lot of people who are moving to the Island come from the Lower Mainland: Vancouver, Richmond, North Vancouver. They are moving here because it is so expensive there and they can get a better house here than they had there.”

Calgary claimed top spot, followed by Barrie, Ont. and Montreal.

B.C. is again the province with the second-highest amount of growth among one-way movers, just behind Alberta.

“People are also continuing to move to British Columbia for the natural beauty and the tempered climate, especially in comparison to the other provinces. B.C. also has strong health care and education systems that attract young couples and families,” noted Razmin Mansoub, U-Haul area district vice-president for Western Canada, in a news release.

For the second consecutive year, Ontario was last in growth with a net-loss of U-Haul customers. Despite this, Ontario boasts nine of Canada’s top 25 growth cities — more than any other province.

“The bulk of the people coming into Ontario are arriving from Quebec and the Maritimes. When we see people leaving Ontario, they go west towards Alberta more than anywhere else,” said Mansoub.

The other B.C. cities on the top-25 list are Vancouver in seventh, Richmond in eighth, North Vancouver in 12th, Salmon Arm in 16, and Sidney in 24th.

U-Haul ranks provinces and cities by their net gain – or loss – of customers who rented a one-way vehicle or trailer, moving containers in one province or city proper and dropped off their equipment in another province or city proper.