Member News

News and updates from BOMA Edmonton and North members.

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
November 2025

Recognition

Mentions

  • Lisa Baroldi will step down as president and CEO of BOMA Edmonton and North as of Nov. 15. “I will transition to a consulting role, providing senior advisory services while I also focus on family,” Baroldi said in a statement to members. “It was a difficult decision, but BOMA is in a strong position and I am excited about being a part of the next phase of our growth in another capacity.”
  • Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation will manufacture Toronto-based Vimy Pharma’s made-in-Canada generic version of Ozempic at the Critical Medicines Production Centre. API’s CEO, Andrew MacIsaac, discussed the development in a post, drawing parallels to the Edmonton-Toronto collaboration that led to insulin.
  • The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce has expressed caution about the results of the recent Edmonton election, though it did congratulate Mayor Andrew Knack and the new city council as they begin their term. The Chamber questioned how so much frustration resulted in a largely same-face council. “Everyone’s angry and disenchanted, and knows that we’re in a crisis and we need some difficult decisions, and they literally didn’t turn out to vote, and those who did, picked the status quo,” Doug Griffiths, the chamber’s CEO and president, told Postmedia.

Posts and Publications

Resources and Opportunities

  • The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce has announced its November 2025 calendar of events, including the State of the Economy Luncheon on Nov. 7 at the JW Marriott, offering the first look at Edmonton’s new economic scorecard.
  • Strathcona County is offering free workshops for non-profit board members to build strong and effective boards. Alberta Board Member Essentials is a multi-part training program combining online learning with live workshops on Nov. 6, Nov. 29, and Dec. 6. A governance and healthy organizations workshop on Nov. 22 will focus on governance practices, decision-making, and clarifying board member roles.
  • Business in Edmonton Magazine‘s Leaders Gala will take place Nov. 12, celebrating the achievements of individuals whose leadership strengthens the city.
  • Civida is hosting a webinar on Nov. 18 to showcase its approach to sustainable, scalable, affordable housing.

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
October 2025

Recognition

Mentions

  • Avison Young‘s fall market overview for multi-family properties in Edmonton highlighted that the city ranks first in affordability among major cities in Canada, despite rising rents. The report notes that walk-up apartments offer unique value with central locations and renovation potential, as Edmonton’s older stock isn’t facing significant redevelopment pressure.
  • Postmedia wrote about the candidate mixer hosted by BOMA Edmonton and North, the Edmonton Construction Association, and NAIOP Edmonton, noting that “at least three of the candidates for Edmonton’s next mayor have assured the construction industry they won’t be pausing development.” Rahim Jaffer, Michael Walters, and Andrew Knack all pledged they would not slow down the extent of construction across the city.
  • Edmonton ranked 38th, up 11 spots from a previous report, in the latest CBRE report on tech talent markets.
  • The City of Edmonton will take over operations of Fort Edmonton Park from the Fort Edmonton Management Company starting Jan. 1. This decision, made on July 7, follows FEMCo’s financial and operational challenges after the park’s $165-million enhancement project and COVID-19 closures.
  • The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce told Taproot it has a wish list of policies for those running in the municipal election, and near the top of that list is to champion a municipal development corporation.

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Resources and Opportunities

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
September 2025

Recognition

Mentions

  • Avison Young‘s Jandip Deol said Edmonton’s real estate market is booming due to population growth and economic diversification. Deol told the Western Investor that Edmonton is the “darling of the country right now”, thanks to affordability, and that this is attracting investment from large, private firms. Apartment rents in Edmonton rose by nearly 1% over the last year, to $1,573 per month, while many other major cities have seen rents fall, according to a report from Toronto-based analytics firm Urbanation Inc. It also found that Edmonton’s rents have increased 32% over three years.
  • CBRE‘s report on retail rents in Canada for the first half of 2025 suggests Edmonton has a divide between its suburban retail, which is seeing rents increase, and downtown retail, which is not. James Young, with CBRE in Edmonton, told Postmedia that landlords can charge more rent at suburban power centres than they can downtown because there is much more demand outside the core.
  • Edmonton’s government district is experiencing a significant transformation as developers convert empty office spaces into residential units, driven by increased work-from-home trends and a high demand for housing. Ronald Benjamin, vice president of Stromiga Inc., is transforming more floors of the Financial Building into apartments, a trend that began in 2018 after provincial government employees vacated six floors. Mark Anderson of CBRE noted a “flight to quality” with tenants preferring newer spaces, exacerbating the “double whammy” for the government sector, which comprises one-third of downtown’s office inventory.
  • Calgary-based Stromiga Inc. is investing $5.5 million to convert several more floors of its Financial Building in downtown Edmonton into housing. The shift for a building named for its former office purpose suggests hybrid work continues to remake Edmonton’s downtown. Changes to the pre-pandemic downtown economy, dependent on service-based commerce from roughly 60,000 daily office workers, have influenced business failures, from Filistix’s downtown location closing to Edmonton City Centre mall entering receivership.
  • Alberta small businesses are questioning their future amid Trump tariff uncertainty, with more than 70% reporting higher expenses. Heather Thomson of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce noted local investment is stalling, and anticipates layoffs to follow by mid-2026.
  • Edmonton city council approved a master agreement for a new event park at ICE District, alongside plans to build 2,500 housing units and to demolish the Northlands Coliseum. The $408.2-million project, shared by the city, province, and OEG, passed with a council vote of nine to four. OEG has committed to completing the first 354 housing units by late 2028.
  • Rohit Gupta, president of Rohit Group, spoke to The Alberta Edge podcast about Alberta’s housing boom, driven by record population growth, and the paradox of why it hasn’t boosted business confidence in the province.
  • The University of Alberta has released a request for proposals, seeking assistance to manage its infrastructure and reduce its physical footprint by up to 30%. Facing more than $1 billion in deferred maintenance and aiming to enroll 60,000 students by 2033, the university manages more than 400 buildings, with more than 60% over 40 years old. The two-year project will identify how to efficiently use assets, consolidate space, and determine which buildings should be disposed of.

Posts and Publications


Resources and Opportunities

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
August 2025

Recognition

Mentions

  • Edmonton city council will discuss a proposal on Aug. 13 for a downtown student housing incentive program. Funded by the CMHC’s Housing Accelerator Fund, the program would provide grants of up to $30,000 per new student unit. According to a City of Edmonton report, building permits could be issued for approximately 500 housing units by November 2026. Lindsey Butterfield of BILD Edmonton Metro said that between MacEwan University and NorQuest College, roughly 30,000 students enter the downtown core daily.
  • Alberta is on pace to build nearly as many new homes as Ontario in 2025, numbers not seen since the 1980s. Adil Kodian of Rohit Group, suggests this rapid construction, combined with slower immigration, raises concerns about a potential oversupply in the Alberta housing market.
  • According to Murtaza Haider of the Cities Institute at the University of Alberta, the populations of Calgary and Edmonton have grown by 80% and 70%, respectively, since 2001, while other major Canadian cities have grown more modestly. Haider suggested factors driving this growth include housing affordability, a youthful and diverse population, and a favourable tax regime.

Posts and Publications

Resources and Opportunities

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
July 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Recognition

Mentions

Posts and Publications

Resources and Opportunities

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
June 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Recognition

Mentions

Posts and Publications

Resources

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
May 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

  • BOMA Edmonton and North, along with BOMA Nova Scotia, is participating in the $25-million BOMA Enspire program, which has already funded $2 million in member studies. The program is in partnership with Natural Resources Canada.
  • Bronwyn Scrivens of SIOR posted about BOMA Edmonton and North‘s Data Centre Development Luncheon, discussing how Alberta needs to provide data centres with on-grid power, supplemented with off-grid co-generation, to encourage development. There is currently a global shortage of natural gas turbines and transformers, with a wait time of more than five years for natural gas turbines. While sustainability is a consideration, power availability, scalability, and reliability are critical.
  • BOMA Edmonton and North is hosting a two-day training event on May 13 and 14, offering a deep dive into Indigenous ceremonial protocols to enhance cultural awareness and foster respect. The Culture, Our Way of Life training, led by Indigenous instructors, aims to promote cross-cultural understanding, improve communication among diverse teams, and create inclusive workplaces.
  • BOMA Edmonton and North is calling for a National Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan because of the growing mental health and addictions crisis impacting property owners. A Canadian Federation of Independent Business report from 2024 found that seven in 10 businesses in urban centres view mental health and addictions as barriers to success and safety. Security and repair costs for building owners in some Canadian cities have increased by 176% and 120%, respectively, since March 2020.
  • BOMA Edmonton and North president and CEO Lisa Baroldi appeared on a panel hosted by Edmonton CREW on April 29 at the Royal Glenora Club. The How Did I Get Here session featured Baroldi, Lillah Penddah, Melanie Ducholke, and Dani Remier, and offered insights into the panelists’ career journeys. Kara Engley of Edmonton CREW moderated the event.
  • BOMA Edmonton and North‘s annual commercial real estate guide has been rebranded as Square Footage by BOMA. The organization is seeking partners to advertise or inquire about ways to collaborate with it in its multimedia platform to drive conversations about regional investment and tenant attraction in Edmonton and Northern Alberta.

Recognition

Mentions

  • Alberta Investment Management Corporation‘s Vic Cheema discussed his education and career journey on the CPA Alberta podcast.
  • Alberta Municipalities president Tyler Gandam told the St. Albert Gazette he’s worried about the gap between the end of municipal codes of conduct and whatever the province has in mind to replace them, though he acknowledged Bill 50 may result in less ambiguity for councils.
  • CBRE reported that Alberta developers are starting new retail construction projects due to all-time low retail vacancy rates, creating new opportunities for retailers after years of limited growth.
  • Lisa Drury from the City of Edmonton was a guest on the In Development Podcast to talk about the city-led priority growth area rezoning project. City administration has chosen three parts of the city to proactively upzone for increased density in this project. They are parts of Wîhkwêntôwin and the 124 Street area; parts of 156 Street NW and Stony Plain Road NW, near future LRT stations; and parts of the Garneau neighbourhood close to the University of Alberta.
  • City of St. Albert council approved $62.7 million in front-end funding for the Lakeview Business District, a 600-acre industrial development in the southwest corner of St. Albert, which is expected to bring more than 5,000 jobs to the area. Mayor Cathy Heron said developing the district will help make the city financially sustainable and encourage residents to work in St. Albert instead of commuting to Edmonton. The city’s overall plan is to incentivize developers to build in the district.
  • Edmonton Global posted about the Canadian Hydrogen Convention concluding on April 25 with an awards gala. Team Hydrocore won the Global Hydrogen Case Competition, where teams from Canada, the USA, and Mexico developed solutions leveraging the Edmonton region’s strengths in hydrogen. The City of Edmonton won the Hydrogen Early Adopter award, and Rebecca Goldsack of Diesel Tech Industries won Hydrogen Leader of the Year. Brent Lakeman of Edmonton Region Hydrogen HUB received an honourable mention.
  • Edmonton International Airport CEO Myron Keehn presented an annual update to Leduc city council that noted the airport served 7.92 million passengers in 2024, a 5.6% increase from 2023. Keehn noted that YEG and Villeneuve Airport generated $5.3 billion in economic output and supported more than 23,500 jobs. The number of non-stop routes has rebounded to more than 50. Keehn also addressed the impact of U.S. tariffs, which have caused a drop in bookings that cross the border.

Posts and Publications

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
April 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Recognition

Mentions

  • Dave Young, executive vice president with CBRE, and Cory Wosnack, managing director of Avison Young, spoke to CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active about how the political climate is impacting the real estate market.
  • The City of Edmonton ended the 2024 fiscal year with a $700,000 deficit, about 0.2% of the overall tax-supported budget, significantly less than the $73.8 million projected in the fall. This is the fourth time since 2020 the City ended the year with a deficit, which requires the use of reserves to balance the budget. Council voted to replenish reserve funds over five years, which will require 0.6% tax increases in 2025 and 2026.
  • To address the student housing crunch, the City of Edmonton is partnering with the Edmonton Students’ Association to survey post-secondary students this fall about housing availability, affordability, and location. MacEwan University will open 50 new rental spaces near campus this fall as part of a pilot project with a developer. A survey last spring that found 40% of MacEwan students said they could not afford more than $500 rent monthly.
  • Manisha Arora, the director of trade for Edmonton Global, said that as Canadian businesses more seriously explore what export markets exist beyond the United States, they find the answers depend on what they export and their ability to adapt to different international standards. Arora shared her insights on new export trade opportunities with countries that include Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Germany, and with regions that include the Middle East and South America.
  • High domestic airfares make it harder for Edmonton to attract domestic tourists, as flying within Canada is often more expensive than flying to the U.S. or Mexico, Postmedia reported. Adrian Warchola with the Edmonton International Airport said its fees are on par with other Canadian airports, but prices are set by airlines. While the airport reached 97% of pre-pandemic passenger levels in 2024, domestic growth has been “steady” rather than increasing, Warchola said.

Posts and Publications

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
March 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Mentions

Posts and Publications

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
February 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Mentions

Posts and Publications

BOMA Edmonton Spotlight:
January 2025

BOMA Edmonton and North

Mentions

  • Alberta Blue Cross coverage now extends to psychedelic therapies.
  • The Municipal Affairs with Chris Brown show hosted outgoing Alberta Municipalities CEO Dan Rude to “look back on the milestones, challenges, and transformations that have shaped Alberta Municipalities under his guidance.” The show also spoke with president Tyler Gandam for a 2024 year-in-review episode.
  • The three-year rehabilitation project at Edmonton’s Hawrelak Park is progressing on time and on budget, the City of Edmonton says. Significant infrastructure upgrades are already complete, including utility services, drainage, and electrical installations. The Groat Road stairs and parts of the shared pathway are finished, while work on the Main Pavilion, Heritage Amphitheatre, and landscaping is expected to continue into 2025.
  • The City of Edmonton reopened the city hall parkade on Dec. 13 with new security measures. It operates daily from 7:45am to midnight. Parking rates vary by time and day, with special rates during major events at Rogers Place. Visitors can pay for parking using the Hotspot Parking app or website, or EPark pay machines.
  • The Edmonton Chamber of Commerce has joined the calls urging the federal government to withdraw its proposed emissions cap on the oil and gas sector, arguing it could negatively impact Edmonton’s economy and lead to a 4.5% drop in Alberta’s GDP by 2040. Chamber president Doug Griffiths said the cap-and-trade system would disproportionately affect industries in Edmonton, including construction and engineering services, and suggested exploring other ways to achieve emissions reduction targets. The Alberta government has also introduced a sovereignty act motion to challenge the federal cap.

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