[sonick]

As far as I know calculators on CMHC/bank websites mainly just calculate how much your mortgage payments would be depending on what your down payment. The spreadsheet I linked gives a fuller comparison of the two situations.

Savings is one thing but investing is another. The considerations between buying/renting should be the costs of buying (fees, commission, interest) and the property's potential of increasing in value (i.e. equity) vs. the monetary savings of renting and the potential of growing that amount saved through investing.

If you are renting but then putting the difference into a basic savings account, you are potentially wasting the financial benefits of renting.

Hence the 'forced investing/forced savings' aspect of buying is a 'pro' to many as they don't have the time or knowledge to look into options of investing their money, and instead expect or hope their property will increase and thus be an investment in and of itself.

However, as you probably are well aware, the future of local real estate is widely debated. You'd have to do research and make the decision yourself on whether or not you think you will come out better in the end if you buy or rent.