No, condo, home, or tenant insurance is not mandatory in Canada, although the condo association, or the owner of the condo, may require you to have to move in. You also need insurance to secure a mortgage to purchase a home or condo. So, even though it is not legally required to have, there are other outlets that may require the homeowner to purchase it.

If you own a condo or rent a house or apartment, some landlords may require tenants to have tenant insurance before moving in and condo corporations and lenders may require condo unit owners to show proof of insurance before moving in as well.

Condo insurance protects the units within a condo building. You would get it to protect your contents such as appliances, clothing and furniture (and would also cover items stored in a locker). 

It would also provide additional living expenses in the event of an insured loss (if you had to temporarily move out) as well as the condo owner's liability for any bodily injury or property damage that was unintentionally caused by others in the building.

Condo building insurance is different. This is purchased by the condo corporation to cover damage to the building and the common areas and liability on the property. This is usually included in the monthly condo maintenance fees.

There are a few factors that determine your monthly condo fees,  they include:

• The size of the building (a larger building has more owners to share the cost)
• The age of the building (newer buildings may have lower fees)
• The amenities 
• The neighbourhood

It all depends on where you live. Older buildings usually have higher condo fees because they require more maintenance and smaller buildings also tend to have higher fees because the costs are shared between fewer owners. Newer developments with an all-inclusive list of amenities have higher fees because of upkeep costs.

No, you cannot negotiate condo fees. And, they are never optional. Even though you move into a building with a pool, but never expect to use it, you still need to pay for its upkeep.