Rental apartment vacancies in major Canadian centres rose 2.9% in April, up from 2.7% a year earlier, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said yesterday. “Rental construction and competition from the condominium market added upward pressure on vacancy rates and historically low mortgage rates attracted renter households towards home ownership over the last year,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. Of the 35 major centres, the lowest vacancy rates were in Quebec City (0.4%), Regina (0.8%), Winnipeg (1%) and St. John’s, N.L. (1.1%). The highest vacancy rates were in Windsor, Ont. (12.4%), Peterborough, Ont., and Abbotsford, B.C., (both 6.6%). Monthly rents for two-bedroom apartments were the highest in Vancouver ($1,150), Toronto ($1,134), Calgary ($1,082) and Ott awa ($1,061). The lowest rents were in the Quebec centres of Saguenay($522), Trois-Rivieres ($531) and Sherbrooke ($556).