Vancouver has the lowest office availability in Canada while Toronto and Montreal lead the country in development within the sector, says a new Altus Group report.

The Vancouver office market posted a 12.2% availability rate in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to a 17.6% national average that remained flat from the previous quarter. Quebec City (12.3%) was marginally higher while Ottawa (13.4%) had the third-lowest total.

Calgary, which has been ravaged by high vacancy in recent years, had the highest availability rate at 23.8%. But Calgary’s availability rate continued to drop with assistance from the city’s office-conversion program that has subsidized repurposing projects.

The program was suspended in October after its budget was exhausted, but the city plans to offer more incentives.

Meanwhile, Toronto recorded the most office completions, four. But Montreal introduced the most the office space, 1.32 million square feet, during the fourth quarter.