Stay under two to three years and those upfront costs rarely have time to be offset by equity growth or rent savings, which tilts the decision toward renting almost regardless of price or rate. Stay five years or more and the math usually flips the other way.
Income stability matters almost as much, since a mortgage is a fixed monthly obligation tied to one property, while a lease lets you adjust quickly if your job or income changes, a real consideration in any market.
Everything else, from mortgage rates to the Saskatoon benchmark of $444,700, matters less than an honest answer to how long you are actually staying. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.