Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. Vancouver’s multifamily market is navigating a dramatic pricing reset, driven by punitive demand-side policy, interest rate shifts, and severe land value contractions.

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, recorded live at the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference 2026 and powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Mark Goodman, Owner and Principal Broker at Goodman Commercial Inc. and publisher of The Goodman Report. Mark breaks down how Metro Vancouver sales volume has plummeted while transaction counts rose, signalling a shift toward smaller deal sizes. The conversation dives into the structural reset in pricing per door, land values dropping over 50%, political friction under BC provincial leadership, and why disciplined family offices are stepping up to buy the dip with positive leverage spreads.

The discussion also covers Mark’s evolution into podcasting inspired by New York CRE legend Bob Knakal, capital flight from British Columbia toward pro-business markets like Calgary, and the legal and psychological uncertainty surrounding Aboriginal title rights decisions. Mark explains how the highest and best use dynamic has flipped upside down, reverting speculative high-density development sites back to existing cash-flowing apartment assets.

What You Will Learn

• Sales Volume vs. Transaction Disparity: Why Metro Vancouver dollar volume dropped 35% while transaction count increased 19%.
• The Wholesale Reset in Values: How price per unit has fallen 26% year-over-year and 35–45% from peak market levels.
• The Flipping of Highest & Best Use: Why speculative high-density land values collapsed, shifting valuation back to cash-flowing existing buildings.
• Impact of BC Government Policy: How rent controls, short-term rental bans, flipping taxes, and RTA changes drive capital flight to Alberta.
• Positive Spread Opportunities: How 5% cap rates combined with low-4% debt financing create attractive positive leverage.
• The Psychology of Capital & Uncertainty: How legal decisions regarding Aboriginal title rights created market friction and institutional pauses.
• Family Office Strategy: Why second-generation family offices are actively buying the trough while institutional capital remains sidelined.

Mark Goodman is one of Canada’s leading commercial real estate brokers, known for his innovative approach to marketing properties and closing deals. With over $5 billion in sales of apartment buildings, investment properties, and development sites across more than 700 transactions, Mark has built a distinguished career in the field.

As the founder and principal broker of Goodman Commercial, Mark has been instrumental in positioning the company as an industry leader. His forward-thinking strategies have kept his firm ahead of the market curve.

In addition to his brokerage expertise, Mark publishes the Goodman Report, a cutting-edge platform that delivers the latest news and marketing insights for the industry. This publication has helped cement his reputation as an authority on apartment building sales in British Columbia and throughout Canada.

Mark is regularly quoted in major publications such as The Vancouver Sun, National Post, The Globe and Mail, Business in Vancouver, Western Investor, Daily Hive, RENX, Green Street News, ConnectCRE, Storeys, and many more. He is also a sought-after speaker and moderator, having participated in key events such as the Urban Development Institute, Vancouver Real Estate Forum, and the Canadian Apartment Investment Conference.

 

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Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. AI is reshaping commercial real estate, but the biggest barrier to adoption may not be technology; it may be fear. 

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome Mike Bonneveld, President at Skyline Group of Companies, back to the show and examine how tariff uncertainty and economic volatility reshaped tenant behavior and stalled growth. Mike breaks down the Canadian markets gaining momentum, including Calgary and Edmonton, and explains why tight cap-rate spreads are forcing REITs to become more disciplined about acquisitions. 

The conversation also explores shifting rent dynamics, the return of speculative development in Alberta, and why data center tenants are proving exceptionally valuable and sticky. With tariff uncertainty beginning to ease, Mike shares why pent-up demand could drive a stronger industrial rebound through late 2026 and into 2027. 

What You Will Learn

• How to assess post-tariff tenant behavior
• The vacancy story that matters most
• Why cap-rate-to-cost-of-debt spreads are dangerously tight
• The geographic rent divergence that creates investment friction
• How supply-constrained markets signal spec development
• Why data center tenants are disproportionately valuable
• The 2026–2027 recovery trajectory depends on tariff certainty, not elimination

Mike Bonneveld is President of Skyline Industrial REIT, where he leads strategic growth, portfolio performance, and investment initiatives across Canada’s industrial real estate markets. He joined Skyline in 2009 and brings more than 30 years of Canadian real estate experience spanning acquisitions, asset management, corporate finance, M&A, brokerage, and valuations. Previously, Mike led Skyline’s Acquisitions team, overseeing transactions across multiple REITs and SkyDev. He holds an Honours BA in Urban Development from the University of Western Ontario and serves on the Board of Trustees of Inovalis REIT.

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Welcome to the CRE Podcast: 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

Today we are re-running an episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, to celebrate Brad Bradford’s Mayoral run for Toronto by revisiting the episode record with him earlier. 

Brad discusses the pressing challenges in Toronto’s housing market and the intersection of politics and housing policy in Toronto.  Fresh off his removal from key housing-related roles by Mayor Olivia Chow, Brad unpacks the political tensions shaping the city’s approach to affordable housing and development. 

He shares his candid perspective on the mayor’s decisions, which he describes as prioritizing “politics over progress,” and offers bold alternatives for addressing Toronto’s housing crisis. He delves into his advocacy for ambitious housing solutions, including multiplex developments and increased density on major streets, which he argues were met with resistance by the mayor and her allies. The conversation dives into the challenges of navigating bureaucracy, overcoming political resistance, and fostering collaboration between government and private sectors to tackle the housing crisis. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in Toronto’s real estate landscape and the policies driving its future.

Here are the key talking points from the episode:

• Political Tensions: How Mayor Chow’s decision reshaped Brad’s role in housing policy.
• Housing Supply Challenges: The impact of bureaucracy, development charges, and NIMBYism.
• Leadership in Housing: Bold alternatives to break through political gridlock.
• Collaboration for Progress: Bridging divides between government and private sectors.
• Toronto’s Future: A vision for housing affordability and city growth.

More About Our Guest…

Brad Bradford is a Toronto City Councillor representing Ward 19, Beaches-East York.  He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Urban and Regional Environments from York University and a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from the University of Waterloo. With a background in urban planning and years of experience in local government, Brad is a tireless advocate for housing, transit, and infrastructure solutions.

Known for his candid style and passion for pragmatic policies, Brad is committed to overcoming political and bureaucratic barriers to foster collaborative approaches to city building. Recently, he has been at the center of a public political dispute over Toronto’s housing strategy, positioning him as a key voice in the city’s housing debate.

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Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. AI is reshaping commercial real estate, but the biggest barrier to adoption may not be technology; it may be fear. 

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Stephanie Wood, VP at Alate Partners, to explore how CRE professionals can move beyond uncertainty and start using AI strategically. Stephanie shares practical examples of high-ROI applications, from lead-to-lease automation to underwriting, while explaining why subject matter expertise becomes even more valuable as AI takes on repetitive tasks. 

The conversation also explores data security, change management, software investment cycles, and why Canada’s cautious approach could become a competitive disadvantage. Most importantly, Stephanie explains how organizations can start small, experiment safely, and build the confidence to turn AI into a competitive advantage. 

What You Will Learn

• How to identify high-ROI AI use cases in your business
• Why subject matter expertise becomes more valuable in an AI-driven workplace
• The change management barrier is bigger than the technology barriers
• How to future-proof software investments without triggering “AI” paralysis
• Why Canadian real estate’s cautious approach is actually a strategic liability
• The practical starting point for any organization

Stephanie Wood is Vice President at Alate Partners, where she supports deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio management. Before joining Alate, she worked at CPP Investments in the Real Estate group, helping assess and implement a technology platform for the fund’s global real estate portfolio. She also spent three years in the Valuations group, gaining experience across asset classes. Stephanie holds an Honors Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business and an Honors Specialization in Urban Development from Western University.

Episode Reference:

• Stephanie Wood LinkedIn
• Alate Partners Website
• Uniti Website
• Altrio Website
• VTS Website

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Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the down cycles everyone fears are actually the best entry points for disciplined capital?

Canadian shopping malls today may be one of real estate’s most overlooked opportunities. In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined once again by Julian Schonfeldt, Chief Investment Officer at Primaris REIT, who explains the forces driving retail’s unlikely renaissance, from a decade-long shortage of new shopping centres to growing institutional demand for high-quality assets. 

Julian shares how Primaris is targeting dominant malls at attractive implied cap rates while pursuing 3-4% NOI growth, monetizing underutilized land, and concentrating its portfolio in high-traffic markets. The conversation also examines changing pension fund sentiment, the gap between backward-looking NAV valuations and current market fundamentals, and how retailers’ shift toward selective, high-productivity locations is strengthening the outlook for Canada’s best enclosed shopping centres. 

What You Will Learn

• How to capitalize on retail’s supply shortage
• The land monetization playbook.
• Why are pension fund sales accelerating now
• The intensification strategy that works
• How to read between the lines on REIT valuations
• The omnichannel retail recovery thesis

Julian Schonfeldt is a seasoned real estate investment and capital markets executive with nearly 20 years of experience. He is the Chief Investment Officer of Primaris REIT, a position he has held since April 2026. Previously, he was the Chief Investment Officer at CAPREIT, where he executed over $6 billion in strategic transactions before leaving the company in April 2026. Prior to CAPREIT, he spent over 11 years at RBC Capital Markets as a Managing Director in Global Investment Banking, following roles at Solaris Capital Advisors, KPMG, and PwC. .

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Welcome to the CRE podcast, 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the down cycles everyone fears are actually the best entry points for disciplined capital?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk welcome back returning guest Jeremiah Shamess, Executive Vice President at Colliers and head of the Private Capital Investment Group. Jeremiah revisits his previous market calls from 2016 and 2022 to examine where Canada’s commercial real estate market stands today. He unpacks why income-producing properties and urban residential land are reaching their bottoms, how private capital and family offices are navigating current yield compression, and why patient long-term planning will set up operators for success as supply deficits loom later this decade.

The conversation explores structural shifts in capital allocation, comparing the risk-averse posture of institutional capital against the agile approach of family offices who are positioning for the next cycle. Jeremiah breaks down the realities of development land economics, the impact of high absorption rates in purpose-built rental markets, and the historical duration of Canadian real estate cycles. From street-front retail challenges to suburban office opportunities, this episode provides a data-grounded overview of how operators can navigate today’s pricing discovery phase to capture long-term value.

What You Will Learn

• How to identify market bottoming signals across multifamily, office, and development land.
• Why Canadian real estate cycles historically take 8 to 11 years to fully play out.
• The critical difference between private family office strategies and institutional hurdle rates in today’s market.
• How current rental absorption numbers signal an impending supply deficit by 2028–2029.
• How to underwrite development land opportunities at today’s compressed land values.
• Why risk-adjusted returns in suburban office and urban multifamily are attracting opportunistic capital.

Jeremiah Shamess is an Executive Vice President at Colliers and heads the Private Capital Investment Group. With over a decade of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, Jeremiah specializes in asset sales across development land, multifamily, urban office, retail, and industrial properties across the Greater Toronto Area and Canadian markets.

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Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. 

What can we learn about life, leadership, and the Canadian real estate landscape from someone celebrating his retirement after nearly three decades as the President and CEO of Canada’s largest publicly traded apartment landlord?

In this celebratory episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Mark Kenney, former President and CEO of CAPREIT. Following his recent retirement after nearly three decades with the company, Mark shares his candid perspectives on Canada’s housing affordability crisis, rental markets, immigration, and the forces shaping apartment performance. 

He explains why national housing narratives often overlook critical local differences, and why employment, population growth, and supply are essential to understanding market health. He also reflects on leadership, retirement, building strategy, and where investors can find value as capital markets, replacement costs, and housing fundamentals continue to shift. 

What you will learn:

• How to recognize when it’s time to leave a role
• Why the “affordability crisis is solved” narrative is dangerously wrong
• The three-pillar framework for assessing apartment market health
• Why your most expensive apartments are paradoxically your most affordable
• The optimal apartment building size is 130 units, not 200+
• How to identify the real inflection point in real estate

Mark Kenney is the former President and CEO of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (CAPREIT), with nearly three decades of leadership in Canadian multi-family real estate. During his tenure, he led portfolio modernization, geographic expansion, strategic acquisitions, and capital allocation across Canada, the Netherlands, and Ireland. A respected voice on housing, investment, and market fundamentals, Mark has served on the boards of REALPAC and FRPO and remains a frequent contributor to BNN Bloomberg and other media outlets, offering candid perspectives on Canada’s housing market.

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Welcome to the CRE Podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate.

This is one of the episodes our audience keeps coming back to, and we’re putting it back in front of you because it deserves a wider audience than it got the first time. The arguments Dermot makes are just as sharp today as when we first recorded them, arguably sharper.

What if the biggest barrier to solving Canada’s housing crisis isn’t capital or construction capacity, but zoning itself? In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk sit down with Dermot Sweeny, Founding Principal at Sweeny&Co Architects, for a provocative conversation challenging the fundamental assumptions behind how Canadian cities regulate development. With nearly four decades of architectural practice spanning office, residential, hospitality, and institutional projects, Dermot argues that zoning has become the single greatest impediment to building livable, affordable, and sustainable cities.

The conversation explores why front yards represent wasted land, how Victorian-era fire codes still dictate modern building design, and why corner stores require council debates in 2026. Dermot shares lessons from Tokyo, Rome, and Paris on density done right, explains how industrial design principles from boats and trains could transform micro-unit living, and makes the case for why eight-story mid-rise buildings on underutilized employment lands could solve Toronto’s housing shortage without touching farmland.

What you will learn:

• Why zoning has been antithetical to building great cities
• How industrial design from boats and trains can transform micro-unit living
• The economics of mid-rise intensification in underutilized neighborhoods
• Why front yards represent the most wasted land in Canadian cities
• How Victorian-era building codes still block housing innovation
• The real cost breakdown of government charges in new housing
• Why collective amenities matter more than private space in urban living
• How to build housing under $2,000 per unit while maintaining 7% returns
• What Canadian cities can learn from Tokyo, Rome, and Paris on density

Dermot Sweeny is the Founding Principal of Sweeny&Co Architects, an architecture firm he started in his twenties that now employs over 55 people across a diverse portfolio of work. With 38 years of practice, Dermot has led design on over 7 million square feet of high-performance office buildings, innovative residential projects, and landmark institutional developments. His firm was responsible for Toronto’s first two-story open loft new build in 1987 and has pioneered green technology, raised floor systems, and tenant-driven workplace innovation across major projects including TELUS House, Loblaw’s headquarters, and BMW’s Canadian headquarters. Known for challenging conventional thinking around zoning, density, and sustainability, Dermot brings both sides of his brain—technical rigor and creative vision—to every conversation about the future of Canadian cities.

🎧 First-time listener or repeat visitor, this is the kind of conversation that rewards a second look.

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Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In this episode of the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk are joined by Carlo Timpano, President of Capital Developments, about the forces reshaping Canada’s residential development market. Carlo explains why developers are increasingly turning to purpose-built rentals as condo financing becomes more difficult, and how regulatory changes have improved rental project viability. 

The conversation explores lender expectations, land valuations, unit sizing strategies, and the importance of choosing established neighbourhoods that support long-term demand. Carlo also makes the case that today’s condo pricing may present compelling opportunities for first-time buyers. 

What you will learn:

• Why “boring lenders” killed the condo market
• The three regulatory shifts that made rental viable
• How to underwrite rental when lenders won’t assume rent growth
• The suite size myth debunked with data
• Why neighborhood selection is the primary amenity for rental success
• The honest case for condos as wealth-building tools

Carlo Timpano is President of Capital Developments, where he oversees the company’s day-to-day operations and strategic growth initiatives. Previously, he co-led high-rise office development at Oxford Properties Group, managing a pipeline exceeding $5 billion. With experience at Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company, Carlo brings deep expertise in strategy and real estate development. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Comm from Queen’s University. An avid traveler, amateur astronomer, proud father, and horror movie enthusiast, Carlo is passionate about building exceptional teams and lasting stakeholder relationships. 

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Welcome to the CRE podcast. 100% Canadian, 100% commercial real estate. What if the global geopolitical churn is actually creating opportunities to realign your portfolio?

In part two of a two-part episode on State of Lending on the Commercial Real Estate Podcast, powered by First National, hosts Aaron Cameron and Adam Powadiuk discuss the latest developments affecting borrowers, developers, and lenders across the country. They explain how a sharp increase in Canada Mortgage Bond liquidity is creating more competition among lenders while examining the long-term impact of the large wave of construction loans set to mature in 2027 and 2028. 

The conversation also covers major CMHC policy changes taking effect on September 30, including tougher energy efficiency standards, stricter application requirements, and the likelihood of longer approval timelines as applications surge. Aaron and Adam also discuss why lenders are placing greater emphasis on net effective rents, updated stabilized expense assumptions, and realistic project schedules. This episode provides practical guidance for anyone financing, developing, or investing in Canadian commercial real estate. 

What You Will Learn:

• How to navigate the Canada Mortgage Bond liquidity explosion.
• Why the September 30 energy efficiency requirement change will create a backlog at CMHC
• The ACLP maturity tsunami coming in 2027-2028 and why CMHC’s $20 billion capacity increase was essential
• How to underwrite apartment rents correctly using net effective rates, not face rents
• The stabilized expense increase across Canada, especially Quebec’s material jump.
• Why stricter CMHC application timelines are now enforced

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