The national industrial availability rate fell 30 basis points (bps), to 5.2 per cent, in the third quarter of 2026, reflecting 10.3 million square feet of net absorption across the 11 regional markets CBRE Canada monitors. Calgary enjoyed the largest share of that activity, at 3.8 million square feet, but seven other markets recorded net gains ranging from 2 million square feet in Toronto to 200,000 square feet in London, Ontario.
National leasing of nearly 19 million square thus far in 2026 already exceeds the full-year tallies for the previous three years. Only Edmonton recorded a 200,000-square-foot glut during the summer months, which is attributed to “several large blocks of space” coming back onto the market in the midst of “otherwise above-average leasing”. Elsewhere, leasing activity flatlined in Ottawa and Victoria, while 353,000 square feet of positive absorption in Halifax represents the most active quarter since the fall of 2020.
Among the four largest markets, Calgary posts the lowest availability rate, at 3.6 per cent, followed by Toronto at 5 per cent, Vancouver at 5.8 per cent and Montreal at 6.3 per cent. Vancouver continues to command the top rents in that group, with an average net rent of $18.87 per square foot (psf). However, that’s down from $19.14 psf in Q2.
Canada-wide the average net rent slipped much more modestly, from $14.78 psf in Q2 to $14.77 psf in Q3. Year-over-year, national net asking rent fell 2.4 per cent from $15.11 psf in Q3 2025. Only Victoria, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto posted net average rents above the national average in Q3.
Calgary offers the best bargain among the four largest markets, with average net rent at $11.54 psf, followed by Montreal at $13.78 psf. Meanwhile, Toronto is most competitive on taxes/maintenance/insurance (TMI), which is pegged at $4.33 psf (added to average net rent of $16.07 psf) versus TMI of $6.60 psf in Vancouver, $5.30 psf in Calgary or $5.16 psf in Montreal.
Q3 saw nearly 5.4 million square feet of newly completed industrial space hit the market nationwide, with 2.4 million of that completed in Toronto and another 1 million square feet arriving in Calgary. Roughly 25.4 million square of industrial space is now under construction with about 7 million square feet expected to be delivered, Canada-wide, this fall. CBRE analysts note that the projected total tally of 19.3 million square feet of new inventory in 2026 is the lowest yearly injection of industrial supply since 2019.
“Pre-leasing levels on the overall national pipeline has continued to hold steady, with commitments in place on 51.4 per cent of the active development in Q3 2026,” they report. “The makeup of the construction pipeline continues to shift in favour of large bay facilities, with mid bay projects also seeing a notably larger share of active construction in Q3 2026.”
