The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canada is experiencing a rental crisis. The Globe's Matt Lundy writes that the rent component of the Consumer Price Index rose 8.2 per cent in October from a year earlier, up from 7.3 per cent in September. Rent is one of the biggest contributors to Canada's too-high inflation rate. The Statscan figures account for all tenants, including those who, depending on the province, are covered by rent-control legislation that limits annual increases. The trouble is that when people move -- either willingly or through forced means, such as evictions for renovation -- they often face much steeper rents in a market that is chronically undersupplied. The average asking rent in Vancouver was $3,200 in October; in Toronto, $2,900. Recent increases have been the biggest in Atlantic Canada. In a report, National Bank chief economist Stéfane Marion said there is currently one housing start for every 4.2 people entering the age-15-plus population, pointing to a massive imbalance between Canada's immigration plans and the pace of residential construction. "Under these circumstances, people have no choice but to bid up the price of a dwindling inventory of rental units," he said.