Downtown Montreal's office vacancy is concentrated in handful of buildings
Less than 20% of office buildings account for around half of all downtown vacant office space
Montreal’s downtown office vacancy rate has continued to move higher in recent quarters and now sits at over 15%, or over 20% for only those buildings actively marketing available ...
Expansion of Montreal’s Contrecoeur terminal could help absorb increased EU imports
Since 2021, imports from the EU to Canada increased by 9% per year
The current U.S.-Canada trade dispute could result in Canada increasingly shifting trade away from the U.S. and towards other countries—all of which are located overseas. Such a sh...
Full implementation of EU-Canada trade deal could lead to more investment from Europe
The potential for increased cross-border investment could lead to more European capital flowing into the country’s real estate sector in the future
Foreign investment in Canadian real estate has followed overall trends in recent years, increasing from 2021 through 2023 but then slowing down more recently. Examples of recent fo...
Over half of all high-clear height industrial space in Montreal was built between 2020 and 2024
Rise in clear heights increases as automation and racking systems become de rigueur for many occupiers
Industrial space is increasingly a matter of cubic feet rather than square feet, based on the increase in facilities built with clear heights exceeding 32 feet. This change has bee...
Canadian remote, hybrid job postings remain stable after four years
Job adverts support the notion that hybrid work is here to stay
Data from job site Indeed shows that the percentage of Canadian job postings mentioning remote or hybrid terms has remained stable over the last four years, varying between 12.5% a...
Lack of space hinders many small Canadian businesses
Space costs are also an issue, but less so than in recent months
For the last several years, Canadian small businesses have cited taxes and regulations, insurance and wages as the top three areas causing them cost difficulties, according to the ...
Ottawa investors staying on the sidelines in early 2025
Capital markets proved resilient in 2024, but 2025 has started out challenging
Ottawa’s capital markets proved resilient last year, with three out of the four property sectors showing increased sales volumes. Yet sales volumes have started out slowly in 2025....
Canadian small-business owners have an overwhelmingly negative one-year outlook
Pessimism is growing across sectors, especially among hospitality firms
According to the March 2025 Business Barometer index published by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, or CFIB, fewer small businesses surveyed held an optimistic outlo...
Troubling increase in business closings comes at a bad time for Montreal
More city businesses have been closing than opening over the past year
Although the city of Montreal’s headline GDP increased around 2% for much of 2024, the city's business sector has not been faring well. Data from Statistics Canada shows an ongoing...
Montreal office and industrial sales volumes fall to lowest in four years
City’s drop in transactions follows trend in the rest of Canada
Transaction activity in Montreal’s office and industrial sectors continued to decline in 2024, echoing a trend across Canada.
Ottawa's industrial sector is likely to be more resilient than the rest of Canada
Tenants' local focus should help the city’s industrial sector weather the trade storm
In contrast with other Canadian industrial markets, manufacturing tenants in Ottawa make up only around 15% of occupiers, based on industrial leases signed over the last five years...
Quebec's economy faces heightened risks in volatile US-Canada trade dispute
Trade-related disruptions likely to vary among major provincial cities
Quebec produces a wide array of goods, and its largest city, Montreal, has a diversified manufacturing base across numerous sectors. Nearly 75% of Quebec exports are shipped to the...
Montreal’s aging population has major implications for real estate market
Oldest age cohort forecast to increase rapidly compared to overall population
The oldest age group of Montreal's population is projected to grow the fastest, according to data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec or ISQ, underscoring what will likel...
Small business delinquencies reach highest point on record
Increased uncertainty around U.S. trade and tariff policy poses a new challenge for small businesses
PayNet’s Canadian Small Business Delinquency Index, or CSBDI, shows that more small businesses are behind on their bill payments than during the Great Financial Crisis or the initi...
Quebec’s rent control board allowed rents to increase twice as fast as inflation in 2024
Average permitted rent increases in 2025 expected to be in line with 2024 levels, if not slightly higher
Quebec’s rent control board, known in French as the Tribunal administratif du logement or TAL, recently released the average rent increases it authorized on apartment units subject...
Office vacancy falls as Ottawa tenants fill sublet space in latest buildings
Vacancy rate in newest office properties significantly lower than older structures
A notable trend has emerged in Ottawa’s office market: office buildings constructed in 2010 or later have significantly lower vacancy than older buildings constructed in 2009 or ea...
Even as they slow, retail rent increases in Ottawa continue to outpace inflation
For the first time in years, downtown market outperformed other areas in 2024
Retail rents slowed their annual increase rate from over 6% in 2023 in many Ottawa submarkets to 3.3% in 2024. Unlike recent years, retail rents in the wealthy western submarkets o...
Wave of expiring office leases expected to peak in 2025
After two record-setting years, office lease expirations are set to rise even higher this year
Over the past two years, a record amount of office leases expired in Canada, compounding the sector's challenges. In 2023 and 2024, roughly 15 million square feet of office space c...
Population decline could have significant consequences for Montreal real estate
Montreal’s population estimated to decline by around 50,000 people by 2033
The population of the Regional County Municipality of Montreal, which includes the City of Montreal plus all independent cities on the Island of Montreal, is forecast to decline by...
Top three fastest-growing municipalities in Quebec are in Montreal’s North Shore
Expected ban on agricultural land sales may affect housing affordability in these currently more affordable areas
The three fastest-growing municipalities in the province of Quebec are in Montreal’s North Shore: Mirabel, La Rivière-du-Nord and Montcalm.