Prices in small cities in Ontario have risen to levels that make Calgary competitive. In May, the average resale price in Windsor was $551,915; in London, it was $586,200; and in Eastern Ontario's Rideau-St. Lawrence region, it was $489,149.
Calgary is a prosperous city with affordable housing. It led Canada in median household total income in 2016, with $99,583, while Saint John had $63,737, Toronto had $78,373, and Vancouver had $72,662. This explains why Calgary performs well in a key affordability metric - the percentage of household income required to pay the mortgage. And this is in a province where there is no sales tax.
According to the Alberta Central report, the average Canadian family would spend about 24% of its income on mortgage payments for a typical home purchased with a 20% down payment, with Vancouver topping the list at 36%. Edmonton and Calgary are in the 11-to-13-percentage-point range.