Commercial Real Estate in Quebec Is Splitting Into Winners and Losers: What 2026 Will Reward
Release Date: 12/26/2025
How to Survive with 18% Office Vacancy in Montreal | Concrete Strategies for Property Owners with Laurence Binette
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Montrealâs office market is showing nearly a 17â18% vacancy rate. Landlords must offer more concessions, invest heavily in their buildings, and completely rethink their strategy. So how do you stay competitive in 2026? In this episode, Laurence Binette, Director of Brokerage at AlFID, explains how an integrated real estate group with more than 350 employees manages 32 commercial buildings, 2,000 residential units, and 1,000 student housing rooms while continuing to innovate in a complex market. We discuss major transactions, asset optimization, free rent concessions worth $100 to $125 per...
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Is the Montreal Office Market Really Making a Comeback? What the Numbers Donât Tell You
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Is the Montreal office market truly recovering, or is it just a temporary illusion? In this episode of Espace Montreal, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with André Plourde, Executive Vice President and one of the most influential brokers in the Montreal market, to break down 35 years of real estate cycles, crises, and comebacks. From Cité du Multimédia to Place Ville-Marie and trophy office buildings, André shares a ground-level reading of the market, the mistakes property owners must avoid, the new expectations of tenants, and why some buildings are winning while others are falling behind. An...
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Royalmountâs Comeback: The Leasing Playbook Behind Montrealâs Fastest Retail Turnaround
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Royalmount is not just âdoing fineâ it is accelerating. In this episode sits down with , Partner at and SVP Leasing, to break down what actually drives a successful mixed use destination in Montreal. They explore how consumer habits are changed, why occupancy momentum matters more than first month headlines, and how the right tenant mix, events, and access strategy can reposition an asset quickly. You will hear the measurable results behind the Royalmount lease up, the expansion logic for phase two retail, why a hotel on site makes sense, and how Class A office demand is being reshaped...
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How to Build a $1.2B REIT from Scratch â Lessons from BTBâs Founder
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How do you go from being a tax lawyer to building a $1.2 billion commercial real estate portfolio? In this episode of the Espace MontrĂ©al Podcast, sits down with , President & CEO of , to unpack the real story behind one of QuĂ©becâs most successful publicly traded real estate investment trusts. Michel shares the risks, doubts, and hard lessons behind launching a REIT before most people even knew what one was â including capital raising, surviving the 2008 financial crisis, navigating COVID, and maintaining discipline in volatile markets. This conversation is a masterclass in...
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Why Buyers and Sellers Finally Moved in 2025, and Whatâs Next for Quebec CRE
Espace Montréal Podcast
Quebecâs commercial real estate market has changed fast, and the old âlocal onlyâ playbook does not hold up anymore. , partner at , joins to unpack what appraisers are seeing before the headlines: how developers now chase opportunities across the province, why 2024 felt frozen, and what shifted in 2025 to bring buyers and sellers closer together. Louis also shares the real story behind PDGâs roots coming out of Desjardins, how the firm grew through acquisitions and mergers, and why a merger has to be â1 + 1 = 3â or it is not worth doing. They dig into PDGâs full-service model...
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Montreal CRE 2026 Outlook: Office Comeback, AI, Housing Policy, and Where Capital Is Moving
Espace Montréal Podcast
Montreal commercial real estate is entering 2026 with a very different set of tailwinds and constraints. In this episode, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with James Papadimitriou, Senior Partner at and a long-time governance leader, to unpack what is actually changing beneath the headlines. They cover why âalternativeâ real estate is increasingly an operating business (hotels, senior living, data centers, student housing), how AI and automation could reshape industrial and construction productivity, and what programs like Canada Builds Homes could mean for financing, land, and delivery speed....
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Persist to 2026: Why Net Lease Real Estate Is Winning in an Uncertain Market
Espace Montréal Podcast
The commercial real estate recovery everyone expected in 2025 did not arrive. Instead, investors are being forced to rethink risk, cash flow, and capital allocation heading into 2026. In this episode of the Espace Montreal Podcast, Axel Monsaingeon speaks with Marie-Claire Laflamme-Sanders, Senior Vice President and Practice Lead within âs QuĂ©bec Capital Markets Team, about why net lease real estate has become one of the most resilient investment strategies in todayâs uncertain market. Drawing on insights from the Toronto Real Estate Forum and active transactions across Canada,...
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Commercial Real Estate in Quebec Is Splitting Into Winners and Losers: What 2026 Will Reward
Espace Montréal Podcast
2025 was a turning point for Quebec commercial real estate, and the gap between winners and losers is getting wider. In this end-of-year conversation, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with Andrew Cross to unpack what actually shifted across office, retail, and industrial, and what smart owners, investors, and tenants should watch as 2026 begins. They talk about why strong malls keep winning despite the e-commerce narrative, why lower-tier office stock is being forced into conversion or repositioning, and how innovation like automation and robotics is reshaping industrial demand. The episode also...
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Retail Is Back in Quebec: Whatâs Driving Near-Zero Vacancy and the Mixed-Use Shift
Espace Montréal Podcast
Quebec retail is outperforming expectations. Triple-A centres are running near-zero vacancy, rents are stabilizing, and consumers are spending more time in places that feel like destinations, not just shopping stops. In this episode, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with retail real estate leader Manon Larose to break down what is actually working right now: why retail is no longer âonline vs in-store,â how the tenant mix is shifting toward food, fitness, beauty, and entertainment, and why mixed-use is becoming the default playbook for major sites like Carrefour Laval and Royalmount....
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Redeveloping Carrefour Laval Into a Mixed Use District (Parking, Transit, ESG, Returns)
Espace Montréal Podcast
Cadillac Fairview has been shaping downtown Montreal for decades, but the next chapter is about turning legacy retail land into full neighborhoods. In this episode, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with Jeroen Henrich, Senior Vice President of Development at Cadillac Fairview, to break down the shift from condos to rentals, why underutilized parking fields are now some of the most valuable real estate in Quebec, and how mega-sites like Carrefour Laval get redeveloped without hurting retail performance. They dig into master planning as â3D chessâ, transit and infrastructure constraints, ESG...
info_outline2025 was a turning point for Quebec commercial real estate, and the gap between winners and losers is getting wider. In this end-of-year conversation, Axel Monsaingeon sits down with Andrew Cross to unpack what actually shifted across office, retail, and industrial, and what smart owners, investors, and tenants should watch as 2026 begins. They talk about why strong malls keep winning despite the e-commerce narrative, why lower-tier office stock is being forced into conversion or repositioning, and how innovation like automation and robotics is reshaping industrial demand. The episode also previews what Espace Montreal is building next: a bigger platform for market intelligence, bilingual coverage that travels beyond Quebec, and upcoming editorial themes including energy assessments that could impact transactions and unlock major retrofit opportunities.
Topics & Timestamps
đ Christmas episode and why 2025 mattered (00:00)
đ Espace momentum: 35 years, best year in publishing, and why podcasting changed the game (00:45)
đą Office market reset: strength returning at the top, bottom falling away, conversions and upgrades (02:25)
đïž Retailâs reality check: foot traffic, âwinners vs losers,â and why people still shop in person (03:55)
đ Royalmount, mega luxury, and destination-making in Montreal retail (04:35)
𧩠South Shore and regional mall moves: changing hands, changing strategy (05:40)
đ° Whatâs coming in the magazine: Q4 highlights and Q1 focus on downtown office (06:45)
⥠Energy assessments in transactions: whatâs changing and the retrofit opportunity (08:05)
đ§ Building Espace as a full real estate media company: contributors, research, and new formats (10:00)
đ Why bilingual coverage matters: serving Montreal, Toronto, and New York audiences (12:15)
đ Quebec City spotlight: Stephane Dion and the pulse of the market (13:45)
đŹ Subscriptions and access: how to get a copy and get involved (15:10)
đšïž Print vs digital: why the hard copy still wins in real estate offices (16:35)
đ 2026 vision: becoming Quebecâs #1 real estate media platform, plus closing shout-outs (18:55)
Andrew Crossâ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-cross-b931b61/
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