Where to stay in Canada

What lands on the bill

Expect sales tax plus a municipal accommodation tax, and read the total rather than the nightly rate.

• Toronto's Municipal Accommodation Tax went back down to 6 percent on 1 August 2026. The temporary 8.5 percent rate has ended. If you booked earlier in 2026 at the higher rate for a stay after that date, it is worth checking what you are actually charged.
• It applies to short-term rentals as well as hotels, and only to stays under 28 consecutive days. A 28-night booking drops the tax entirely, which occasionally makes a longer stay cheaper than a shorter one.
• Most provinces add their own tourism levy on top, typically 2 to 4 percent, under a different name in each place. British Columbia's MRDT is the one you meet in Vancouver.
• Resort towns add more. Banff, Whistler and Mont-Tremblant all layer on destination fees, and parking at a mountain hotel is frequently CAD 30 or more a night on top.

Short-term rentals have real rules now

• Toronto allows only a host's principal residence to be listed, with registration required and a maximum of three bedrooms. Investment properties are not permitted.
• Vancouver and Montreal have their own restrictions, and Quebec tightened enforcement sharply after a fatal 2023 fire in an illegal rental.
• Check the listing shows a registration or permit number. Unlicensed listings do get removed by the platforms, sometimes days before arrival, and the cancellation is yours to solve.

Booking sense

• Book far ahead for summer in the Rockies. Banff and Jasper sell out months in advance for July and August, and last-minute rooms are eye-watering when they exist at all.
• Hostels are good and widespread, particularly HI Canada's mountain properties, several of which are in places no hotel occupies.
• Provincial and national park campgrounds open their reservations on a fixed date months ahead and the best sites go in minutes. Parks Canada's booking window opens in January for the summer.
• Winter is the cheap season in the cities and the expensive one in the mountains. Toronto in February is a bargain; Whistler in February is not.