• Valérie Paquin has been elected as the 2025-26 president of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA.) Based in Blainville, Que., Paquin is a co-owner of the Via Capitale Partenaires.

• Avison Young Principal Jeff Flemington will cycle more than 4,000 kilometres across the largely unpaved Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. The five-week solo journey, dubbed Project 55 in honour of Flemington’s age, will take place from May 24 to July 3, covering 4,340 kilometres between New Mexico and Alberta—90% of which is unpaved. The effort pays tribute to Flemington’s colleagues, Sarah Campbell and Kiana Kasaei, and their personal battles with cancer. His goal is to raise $55,000 to support research into brain cancer and breast cancer, the respective diagnoses that have affected Kasaei and Campbell. The fundraising project has secured a 50% matching program through Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. People wishing to contribute funds can donate through the Project 55 website.

• Two prominent commercial real estate developers, Ryan Beedie and Larry Tannenbaum, have been named companions to the order of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. Beedie heads the Burnaby, B.C.-based company that bears his family’s name. Tanenbaum heads Toronto-based Kilmer Group. A legendary entrepreneur, Tanenbaum hold a minority ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns Toronto’s professional sports teams.

• Parkland Corporation announced Wednesday that Bob Espey will step down as president and CEO. Espey will remain in his post up to December 31. Michael Jennings, previously chair of the board, has been appointed executive chair.

• Savills has expanded its Montreal office with a new investment sales team, enhancing its advisory services in the region. Jean-Pierre Gagnon and Robert Metcalfe join as executive Parkland Corporation announced Wednesday that Bob Espey will step down as president and CEOvice-presidents, alongside Noémie Lefebvre as senior director and Olivier Dufault-Gagnon as associate. The team will leverage Savills’ global platform to grow its capital markets presence, advising clients on portfolio strategy and managing investment sales transactions. Gagnon and Metcalfe were previously principals in the capital markets group at Avison Young, while Lefebvre was a director and chartered appraiser at Altus Group.

• Roselyn D’Ascanio, senior director of marketing and communications at Salthill Capital, has been honoured with a 2025 Peak emerging leader award for 2025. Peak awards recognizing young leaders shaping Canada’s economy, culture, and society. With a decade of experience in real estate marketing, her expertise encompasses branding, marketing strategy, and communications across multiple asset classes. At Salthill Capital, D’Ascanio leads a national team of marketing professionals, overseeing both asset-level marketing operations and corporate marketing strategy and communications. She also chairs the organization’s Connection Committee, focusing on team member events and community engagement. Active in the industry, D’Ascanio serves on local and national ICSC committees and manages marketing strategies for non-profit organizations, including The MaKin Foundation and the Association of Toronto Italians in Real Estate. She co-founded Content & CRE, a Toronto-based peer group connecting marketing professionals in the commercial real estate sector. Recently, D’Ascanio was selected for the ICSC Next Generation Leadership Network 2023-2024 cohort and received a Connect 2024 Next Gen award.

• Starlight Investments will serve as the presenting sponsor for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation’s Journey to Conquer Cancer for the fourth consecutive year. The event, scheduled for Sunday, June 15 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto, invites participants to walk or run distances of 1 km, 3 km, or 5 km to raise funds for cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Starlight has been a dedicated partner of this initiative for over a decade, contributing more than $250,000 through employee participation, fundraising, and sponsorships.

• Vancouver law firm Clark Wilson has appointed Jennifer Tseng as an associate in its commercial real estate group. With a decade of experience in both private practice and as in-house counsel at a national bank, and holding a Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance, Tseng offers clients a blend of financial insight and legal expertise. Her practice encompasses acquisitions, sales, and financings of commercial real estate properties; commercial leases; contract drafting, review, and negotiation; corporate transactions; drafting land-related agreements; due diligence; financing and private mortgage loan agreements; and development projects across residential, retail, office, industrial, and mixed-use sectors.

• Siskinds LLP has appointed Matthew Wilson as a partner in its London, Ontario office. Since joining the law firm in 2018, Wilson has led the real estate department, focusing on residential, commercial, and complex property transactions, land development, and mortgage financing. Recognized as a certified specialist in real estate law by the Law Society of Ontario, he also serves as an elected bencher of the law society and volunteers with organizations such as Western University and London Health Sciences Centre. Siskinds’ London office has also named Vivian Iron as a partner. Her diverse practice includes real estate.

• The federal government is accepting proposals for the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy’s Investments in the Training Equipment $20-million funding stream. Through funded projects, Ottawa will support the purchase of modern, up-to-date training equipment and materials that meet industry standards, and will help improve the quality of training for apprenticeships in Red Seal trades. “Eligible organizations include unions representing Red Seal trades workers, organizations managing their own training funds, and training providers that provide technical training to apprentices as part of a recognized apprenticeship program or a Red Seal trade,” says the government. There is no end date for requests for proposals. They will be considered on an ongoing basis. Organizations can submit their applications electronically via the Grants and Contributions Online Services (GCOS) portal.

• Brad Hoffman has been promoted to managing partner for Canada at Panattoni Development Corporation. Hoffman has been with the company for 19 years. He previously served as Panattoni’s executive vice-president for Canada.

• Krishna Chavda has joined OPUS Corporation as a leasing manager in Calgary. She moved to the company from Orange Group. Chavda has about 12 years of commercial real estate experience.

• Michel Brisebois has been promoted to chief human resources officer at industrial investment, development and management firm Logistec. He has held various human resources-related roles since joining the company in 2019. In another move, Logistic has elevated Katia Weyburn to VP of communications. She spent her first year with the firm as strategic communications director.

• Unceded: Voices of the Land, a groundbreaking Indigenous-led contemporary architecture exhibition, will be showcased at Edmonton City Centre until June 21. Originally created for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, Unceded is the first exhibition of its kind to be presented on the world stage, celebrating Indigenous architecture through the perspectives of 18 Indigenous architects and designers from across North America. More details are available at Unceded.org.

Join Canada’s leading CRE owners, investors, developers, brokers, financiers, and more at Connect Canada on May 28 at Malaparte in Toronto. Register now to catch forecasts from Canadian CRE leaders on market challenges and opportunities, insights into international investing with evolving market dynamics, the outlook for multifamily housing, and much more. www.ConnectCanada2025.com