Canada’s commercial real estate market will display continued improvement in 2026 as the return-to-office movement, infrastructure and data-centre investments, among other factors, bolster deals, says a new Avison Young report.

Avison Young expects the momentum built up in the second half of 2025 to continue in 2026. The company’s fourth-quarter 2025 cap-rate report says that 2026 is poised to be a rebound year for the Canadian CRE sector.

“There is a strong case for markets across Canada to continue their recoveries,” wrote Matthew McWatter’s, the company’s advisory and valuations practice leader.

Most of Avison Young’s Canadian commercial real estate experts are feeling more confident about the market as 2026 approaches.

The 2026 Canadian outlook survey of Avison Young experts shows that brighter days are ahead for Canada’s CRE market, according to the global CRE advisory firm.

While the growing RTO movement continues to buoy the office market and infrastructure boosts the industrial sector, the retail sector will benefit from the expansion of necessity-based stores and the multi-family sector will capitalize on immigration-target clarity and such federal programs as Build Communities Strong and the Rental Protection Fund.

McWatters also pointed to Avison Young’s previously released results of its brokers’ 2026 outlook as a sign of the continuing improvement.

Among experts surveyed, 97% expressed confidence that activity would increase (64%) or remain stable (33%). That marked a notable change from mid-year 2025, when respondents saw more stability (48%) than increased activity (45%). The 19% surge in expected activity signals “resounding positivity,” said the company.

“Optimism is in the air, with a focus on recovery and growth among all sectors across the Canadian commercial landscape heading into 2026,” Mark Fieder, an Avison Young principal who heads the firm’s Canadian business, said previously.

Avison Young experts in all Canadian markets except Vancouver anticipate that much more transaction activity will occur in 2026. The company’s Vancouver-based brokers and executives anticipate stable activity compared to 2025.