Net office leasing was positive in 6 out of 11 Canadian cities: CBRE report
The national downtown office availability rate dropped to 18.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026
By Jacqueline So , Apr 08, 2026
Net office leasing was positive in six out of 11 Canadian cities over the first quarter of 2026, according to the “Q1 2026 Canada Office Figures” report published by CBRE.
Net office leasing across Canada hit 2.1 million square feet; thus, the national downtown office vacancy rate dropped to 18.2 percent. Toronto spearheaded the leasing momentum, with 1.9 million square feet of net absorption. The downtown vacancy rate in the city fell from 18.3 percent in the previous year to 14.4 percent.
CBRE noted that this is the third consecutive quarter in which Toronto’s net absorption passed 1 million square feet.
“To date, the office recovery has largely been a Toronto story, but Q1 was the quarter where tenant demand appears to be beginning to spread to other cities and beyond trophy buildings,” said Marc Meehan, CBRE Canada research managing director, in a statement.
In downtown Montreal, positive net absorption was 141,000 square feet, while that in Winnipeg was 111,000 square feet. Net absorption was positive in Vancouver for two consecutive quarters on an overall market basis; Halifax logged its 16th straight quarter of positive net absorption.
By contrast, net absorption in Ottawa was negative largely because of vacancies in large blocks of federal government offices. CBRE indicated that the return-to-work requirement could drive office demand up later in the year.
Back-to-work pushes have boosted optimism in downtown office markets, especially in Toronto. Downtown vacancy fell in seven of 11 markets during Q1, with Halifax, Toronto, and Winnipeg logging the most significant changes at -220, -110, -100 bps, respectively.
“Toronto often leads the way when it comes to real estate trends and business preferences and this could mean more vibrant downtown cores across the country in the coming year. Paired with an increasingly limited development pipeline, fundamentals should continue leading to a more broad-based strengthening in the year ahead,” Meehan said.
www.lexpert.ca/news/infrastructure-law/net-office-leasing-was-positive-in-6-out-of-11-canadian-cities-cbre-report/394110
