Gatineau seeing an influx of Ottawa residents moving across the river
Higher rents and mortgages have led to an influx of people moving from Ontario to Quebec and the biggest migration from Ottawa to Gatineau in 30 years.
Brent Charbonneau was once a renter in Ottawa. The expensive market forced his hand and a move to Gatineau.
“For me to find something in my price range, I’d probably have to move to Cornwall if I wanted to stay in Ontario,” says Charbonneau.
Charbonneau works for the federal government. His desire was to stay close to Ottawa, even if much of his work was from home.
“I expected to be working from home for a long time,” says Charbonneau. “I wanted a home large enough to have a home office. I also have a dog so a yard is great. I would never have been able to afford that anywhere nearby on the Ontario side.”
Gatineau Remax real estate agent Guyanne Caron says price is just one reason Ontario residents are buying on the Quebec side.
“Right now, 50 per cent of our clients are coming from Ottawa,” says Caron. “The city of Gatineau is bilingual. So, people can move here and still do everything in their first language, English.”
In 2021, the average price of a house in Ottawa was almost $650,000 compared to just over $400,000 in Gatineau. Renters could save about $500 per month for an equivalent apartment in Gatineau vs. Ottawa.
Charbonneau is worried that with prices so high in Ontario, he won’t ever be able to afford to move back to Ottawa.
“Now that my equity doesn’t grow as fast as a home in Ottawa, that gap is always going to exist,” says Charbonneau. “It’s always going to be a financial hurdle for me to move back.”
But as cheap as the current market is compared to Ottawa, Charbonneau says moving to Quebec has some downsides, including healthcare and taxes.
“It did end up costing me $7000 more than it would have in Ontario,” says Charbonneau about his taxes. “I would also advise that it’s probably going to take them a very long time to find a family doctor.”
Charbonneau has lived in Gatineau for 14 months and still cannot find a family doctor.
CMHC economist Lukas Jasmin-Tucci says with all the demand, he is already seeing the price gap between the two cities start to close.
“Prices in Gatineau are getting higher,” says Jasmin-Tucci. “All this additional demand puts upward pressure on prices. We’ve seen increases that we’ve never seen before. Close to 30 per cent.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'