There has been a lot going on with the Canadian economy and commerce these days, and the situation carries plenty of implications for businesses and property owners.

New leadership in Ottawa; ongoing trade disorder with the U.S.; inflation and interest rate ups and downs; shifting labour and office markets; and consumer spending habits in flux – it all prompts the need for an economic check-up.

In this episode of Colliers

Talks, Colliers’ Head of Research, Canada, Adam Jacobs, and RBC Capital Markets Senior Economist, Claire Fan, discuss these issues and spell out what they mean for the commercial property market.

The conversation covers:

• The economic implications of the Canada-U.S. trade conflict
• Why Canada may have more room for economic stimulus spending than other G7 countries
• What Bank of Canada will do with interest rates if it sees more evidence of economic deterioratio
• Household spending and how it remains relatively strong, despite broader challenges
• Why RBC economists are not convinced Canada will experience a recession this year

Roughly one in four people in Canada identify themselves as having some form of cognitive or physical disability, but our built environment, while improving, continues to present obstacles for many people.

In this episode of Colliers Talks, Colliers' Tonya Lagrasta, Global Head of Sustainability, and Erin O’Hearn, Senior Property Manager, are joined by Matthew Shaw, Head, Accessible Practice, Rick Hansen Foundation.

They discuss the importance of removing barriers for people with disabilities in buildings, and the need for continuous improvement beyond simply complying with regulations.

There is also a business case for improving accessibility. Enabling more people to access, enjoy and thrive in our spaces can enhance tenant retention and improve a building’s performance.

The conversation covers:

• The challenges and misconceptions around accessibility and why relying on minimum government requirements is not enough
• Why the best approach is to focus on education, empathy and strategic planning to create more accessible spaces
• The importance of considering the entire journey and experience of a person when they arrive at a building, move through the space, and eventually depart
• Why accessibility audits of buildings are integral to the pursuit of continuous improvement

Get more insights from key Colliers experts and major industry players. Tune in to more Colliers Talks episodes.

The conversation also covers:

• Skyline's original expansion into industrial and retail markets, starting in 2012 — and the company's motivation to embrace Montreal

• Skyline taking an entrepreneurial approach to partnerships and acquisitions to ensure quick and efficient tenant management

• Tariffs forcing many industrial stakeholders in the market to pause on big decisions due to inconsistency and political noise

• How tariffs, while causing obstacles, are also driving the Canadian economy and industrial market to become more self-reliant and diversified domestically

Jordan Carlson, President of Anthem Holdings and SVP, Investment with Anthem Properties, joins Colliers Canada's Head of Research, Adam Jacobs and Senior Managing Director, Vancouver Island and Okanagan, Tyler Dolan to discuss debt markets and development.  

Developers in B.C. continue to face over-regulation, rising development costs and various government policies that make it tougher to get new homes built, Carlson says in this episode.

Anthem, a prolific home-builder based in Vancouver, is working through these challenges to continue to buy land, finance developments and build new homes to meet current and future demand.

Carlson discusses with Jacobs and Dolan the broader economic and political landscape from a developer's point of view.

Their conversation covers:

• Anthem’s background, strategic vision and approach to development
• How the current market conditions are fueling and challenging development in B.C.’s Lower Mainland
• How buyer expectations and macro factors are influencing the pre-sale condo market
• The innovative ways Anthem is financing its development and construction projects, including through an IPO program for its latest Burnaby mixed-use high-rise development
• The opportunities and obstacles in converting office space to residential inventory, and why conversion programs are unlikely to catch on in B.C.

You can tune in to all Colliers Talks episodes here.

Much like Canada’s industrial market, Pure Industrial has been evolving. Under Blackstone ownership since 2018, the company has been honing in on Canada's densest industrial markets, namely Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, and expanding its portfolio.

In this latest episode of Colliers Talks, Colliers' Jean-Marc Dubé and Arnold Fox and Pure's COO David Owen and Senior Vice President, Leasing, Jonathan Rovira discuss the company's growth from 26 million to 43 million square feet of owned industrial space in Canada amidst a dynamic market landscape.

Over a 2013 Tuscan red, the experts dive into why they’re starting to feel more bullish about the market.

The conversation also covers:

• The impacts of lower interest rates on the market and the potential for an industrial real estate upswing

• The challenges of maintaining and upgrading older facilities within a growing portfolio

• The benefits of a customer-centric approach to sustainability initiatives including free energy audits for tenants

• Sources of optimism and economic green shoots in the Canadian market, particularly around the rise of e-commerce and same-day shipping practices

Get more insights from key Colliers experts and major industry players. Tune in to more Colliers Talks episodes.

Jeff Hyslop, Senior VP, Asset Management & Investment with InnVest Hotels, joins Colliers Canada's Head of Research, Adam Jacobs and Hotels Managing Director, Robin McLuskie to explore how Canada’s hotel market is bouncing back and showing promise in both the room demand and investment fronts, in this episode of Colliers Talks.

Canada’s hotel market is amid a recovery in both occupancy and room rates post-pandemic, with average rates surging. On the investment side, the market is heating up with transaction volume expected to surpass $2 billion by the end of this year.

The experts in this episode also discuss the boost from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour this year in Toronto and Vancouver, and the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Ongoing challenges persist though, including high labour costs and worker shortages.

Jacobs, McLuskie and Hyslop also cover:

• The opportunity to capture more inbound international travel
• The continued challenges inflation is posing to various types of travel and business
• Why the hotel investment market in Canada could be the strongest we’ve seen in decades
• The interest developers are starting to have in extended-stay accommodations
• The effects and perceptions of wildfires and the tourism industry in Western Canada

Get more insights from key Colliers experts and major industry players. Tune in to more Colliers Talks episodes.

The conversation focuses on the crucial role of ESG in driving business resilience and long-term success, while also highlighting the challenges of balancing competing interests in sustainable investing, including those of lenders, insurers, investors and tenants. This episode’s guests also discuss using a data-driven decision-making process to make the right calls when it comes to making Canada's built environment more sustainable.

The highlights include:

• At Colliers, more than 35 million square feet of our managed portfolio are currently certified to one or more ESG building performance and/or occupant experience standards. This is a 30% increase compared to last year.
• There is risk in abandoning ESG commitments, particularly as legislative and corporate requirements expand. While important decisions need to be made around how to move forward and which specific ESG elements to prioritize and when, it's essential to not turn our backs on the progress achieved so far.
• The insurance industry needs to accelerate its adaptation to the reality of ESG commitments today. In some cases, companies are spending millions on ESG resiliency measures, only to find that it is having no helpful impact on reducing their insurance premiums.
• People want more green spaces, as teams like Colliers Real Estate Management Services are routinely hearing from clients, tenants and the public. That's why the next big thing for real estate will be nature and biodiversity projects threaded into our buildings and cities.
• We must recognize that KPIs for the “E,” “S” and “G” components of ESG will differ. The ESG investments being made today have value beyond the financial win, and it's important to shine a light on that.

Get more insights from key Colliers experts and major industry players. Tune in to more Colliers Talks episodes.

Jacobs and Ivankovic cover the following topics:

• Over the last few years, Canada has seen more immigration to secondary or tertiary markets, and particularly in Alberta, which has been trying to attract more residents.
• Immigration is not only changing the number of Canadian consumers, but is also shifting how people consume products and the types of services required around the country.
• A surging population could also prove to be a boon for the office market, given that many industries will need larger teams of white-collar workers to remain functional and productive.
• Overall demand for various types of housing is going to increase, but we have yet to see meaningful solutions to expand and diversify the national housing inventory to keep pace with growth. It's becoming increasingly clear that governments alone will not be able to solve this problem.
• We're in the middle of a debate about productivity and the office. While many workers remain productive in a hybrid work environment, what are the consequences for innovation?
• Footwear, cosmetics, dollar stores and urban malls are thriving in the retail landscape. How are other retail types performing?
• Some forms of tourism, including cruises, are bouncing back, but we have yet to see tourism from China return to pre-pandemic levels — and that could impact the luxury shopping sector.

Last November, KingSett Capital announced the company had elevated Rob Kumer to the position of CEO while naming former CEO and founder (and previous Colliers Talks guest) Jon Love as Executive Chair of the firm.

Started by Love in 2002, KingSett Capital is a leading Canadian private equity real estate firm that co-invests with institutional and ultra-high net worth clients to deliver sustainable, premium, risk-weighted returns. KingSett manages over $18 billion in assets across its Growth, Income, Urban, Mortgage, Residential Development and Affordable Housing strategies.

Roughly three months into his new role, Kumer joined Marc Dube and Arnold Fox from Colliers Montreal to discuss the path that led him to the top of KingSett, and to detail how the Toronto-based company shaped itself into a one-stop shop for the real estate needs of investors, sellers, lenders, capital partners and occupiers with a national portfolio.

While enjoying a 2019 Burgundy, the hosts and their guest assessed the state of the Canadian commercial real estate industry while exploring both the challenges and causes for optimism with regards to the national economy.  

Downtown vibrancy and success partly stem from the amount of commercial and employment activity in the area, and especially the conditions of the office market.

Office vacancy and return-to-office have been hot topics this year. In this episode of Colliers Talks, host Susan Thompson, Associate Director of Research at Colliers in Vancouver (and a former resident of Calgary), explores both Calgary’s and Vancouver’s unique, and similar, challenges and opportunities in the pursuit of vibrancy and long-term downtown success.

Thompson is joined by Thom Mahler, director of downtown strategy at the City of Calgary and Eric Aderneck, regional planner with Metro Vancouver.

Over the past two decades, Aderneck has worked in the public and private sectors focused on planning policy, real estate development and consulting. Aderneck also teaches urban planning courses for both planners and other city building professionals at various institutions.

Mahler is the director leading the City of Calgary’s Downtown Strategy team, helping to steward the City’s $400 million investment to build a thriving, future-focused downtown. Throughout his career in Calgary, Mahler held various managerial roles in the City’s planning department where he was responsible for long-term planning, development review and land-use applications.