Brandon ranks 25th nationally in U-Haul moves

Brandon has made its first appearance among U-Haul Canada’s top 25 growth cities, according to the company’s new growth index.

The index tracks where people moved in 2025 based on one-way rental transactions.

The Wheat City ranked No. 25 nationally, with U-Haul data showing that 52.7 per cent of one-way customers arrived in Brandon, compared with 47.3 per cent who moved out. Inbound moves to Brandon increased by 29 per cent year over year, while departures rose by 16 per cent.

Brandon’s appearance on the list is being driven by a combination of affordability, job growth, and development across several key sectors, U-Haul Company of Central Canada president Ryan Pearson told the Sun on Monday.

“We’re seeing a lot of agriculture happening in Brandon, along with new housing being built. The housing and cost of living is cheaper than it is in Winnipeg,” Pearson said.

“That kind of development naturally attracts people.”

Pearson said retirees remain a significant demographic moving into the city, particularly those returning to Manitoba after spending their working years in Alberta or British Columbia.

“There’s kind of a running joke that everyone from Alberta and B.C. originally came from Manitoba,” he said. “When people retire, they often come back to be closer to family.”

In addition to retirees, he said, Brandon’s economy is benefiting from strong employment opportunities tied to the food industry, including meat, dairy and potato processing.

He said Brandon’s role in Canada’s foreign worker programs has also contributed to population growth, alongside expansions in health-care services and ongoing development at Brandon University.

“These kinds of developments create job opportunities, and job opportunities create movement,” he said.

As for those leaving the city, Pearson said there were no consistent patterns observed.

“People leave for other opportunities or because school is finished and they’ve found work in their sector somewhere else,” he said.

The ranking is based on net gains of customers who rented trucks, trailers or U-Box portable moving containers and completed their move in another city.

Brandon’s population has grown significantly since 2021, the city’s economic development director Gerald Cathcart told the Sun.

“The population has grown with nearly 7,000 new residents since 2021,” he said in an email. “The city remains youthful, as the number of young people entering the workforce exceeds those nearing retirement, with a ratio of 1.13.”

While the arrival of retirees may slightly increase the city’s dependency ratio, Cathcart said Brandon remains competitive.

“The dependency ratio, which compares the working-age population to the dependent-aged population (both young and elderly), is currently 53.2,” he said. “This is slightly higher than Manitoba’s 52.5 but lower than Saskatchewan’s 54.0.”

While Brandon cracked the top 25, larger urban centres dominated the upper ranks of the list.

Calgary topped the Canadian growth-city rankings for the third consecutive year, followed by Barrie, Ont., Montreal, Victoria, B.C., and Edmonton.

Several of Canada’s most populated cities also ranked among the top 10, including Vancouver, Winnipeg and Toronto, highlighting continued movement toward both major metropolitan areas and select mid-sized centres, the company said in a news release on Friday.

At the provincial level, Ontario led the country with nine cities in the top 25, followed by British Columbia with seven and Alberta with four. When looking at net migration by province, Alberta and B.C. recorded the largest gains, while Ontario posted the largest net loss, though it improved compared to 2024.

The release added that the growth index does not directly measure population or economic growth, but it provides insight into how well communities are attracting and retaining residents.

“The U-Haul Growth Index is an effective gauge of how well cities and provinces are attracting and maintaining residents,” it said.

The index is compiled from more than 2.5 million one-way U-Haul transactions annually across Canada and the United States, drawing on data from over 24,000 rental locations.

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