A new Chick-fil-A restaurant is preparing to serve Brampton at its newest location opening on Thursday, November 13, creating approximately 100-110 full-and part-time jobs.
The company has selected Radhika Saigalto be the local Owner-Operator of the new restaurant.
Radhika Saigal
Located at 100 Resolution Drive, Brampton, Chick-fil-A 410 & Steeles will serve customers Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., offering dine-in, drive-thru and carry-out.
Saigal’s first encounter with the brand was a memorable experience. While sharing a meal with friends at Chick-fil-A Yorkdale, she was instantly transformed into a devoted fan by the deliciousness of her first bite, explained the company.
Her journey with the company began in 2022 through theLeadership Development Program(LDP). Leveraging her extensive background in the food and hospitality industry, she has supported several restaurant openings across Canada and the U.S.
“I’m thrilled to bring Chick-fil-A to Brampton, a place I’ve called home for the past 13 years,” said Saigal. “I’m eager to be able to serve the community with great tasting food and care, and especially to support Team Members, helping them develop skills and foster their entrepreneurial spirit.”
Saigal said she is committed to giving back to the Brampton community by:
Participating in the Chick-fil-A Shared Table™ program, which redirects surplus food to local non-profits and has helped to create more than 35 million meals to date.
Celebrating the opening with a donation of C$40,000 from Chick-fil-A, Inc. to Second Harvest to support local hunger relief efforts in the greater Brampton area. Since 2020, Chick-fil-A has donated approximately C$2 million (US$1.46 million) to Second Harvest to address food insecurity.
To celebrate the restaurant moo-ving into town, cows will eat free on opening day! Saigal and her team are inviting the community to show off their cow spots at the restaurant on opening day for one free entrée. Whether it’s a full cow suit or a simple cow-spotted accessory, customers of all ages are encouraged to join the fun.
First Capital owns and operates, acquires, and develops open-air grocery-anchored shopping centres in neighbourhoods with the strongest demographics in Canada.
Adam Paul
“We are pleased to report another strong quarter of operating and financial results, highlighted by near record occupancy, solid same-property NOI growth and robust lease renewal spreads”, said Adam Paul, President & CEO.
“Our results continue to reflect the successful execution of our strategy and the strong fundamentals of FCR’s grocery anchored retail portfolio, which positions us well for continued stability and growth in cash flow.”
EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
Operating FFO per Diluted Unit of $0.33: Operating Funds from Operations of $71.6 million decreased $5.2 million, or $0.03 per unit, over the same prior year period. The decrease was primarily due to the recognition of a density bonus of $11.3 million in connection with a previously sold property in the third quarter of 2024. Excluding the density bonus, Operating FFO increased $6.1 million or approximately 9% over the prior year period primarily due to higher NOI of $4.7 million and interest expense savings of $3.5 million.
FFO per Diluted Unit of $0.32: Funds From Operations of $69.6 million decreased $2.7 million, or $0.01 per unit, over the same prior year period. The decrease was driven by lower Operating FFO of $5.2 million, partially offset by a year-over-year increase in other gains (losses) and (expenses) of $2.5 million. These other gains (losses) and (expenses) are comprised primarily of mark-to-market (non-cash) gains and losses related to derivative financial instruments employed by First Capital to reduce its borrowing costs and fix the rate of interest on certain variable-rate term loans. Over the life of each loan, the cumulative gain or loss on the related derivative instruments is expected to net to $Nil.
Net Income (Loss) Attributable to Unitholders: For the three months ended September 30, 2025, First Capital recognized net income (loss) attributable to Unitholders of $66.6 million or $0.31 per diluted unit compared to $81.1 million or $0.38 per diluted unit for the same prior year period. The decrease in net income over prior year was primarily due to a $1.1 million increase in value of investment property in the third quarter of 2025 versus a $18.9 million increase in value of investment property recognized in the third quarter of 2024, on a proportionate basis.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE AND CAPITAL ALLOCATION HIGHLIGHTS
Same Property NOI Growth: Total Same Property NOI increased 7.2% over the prior year period. The growth was primarily due to rental rate growth, higher year-over-year occupancy, and a year-over-year increase in lease termination fees of $0.9 million. Same Property NOI excluding bad debt expense (recovery) and lease termination fees increased 6.4%.
Portfolio Occupancy: On a quarter-over-quarter basis, total portfolio occupancy decreased 0.1% to 97.1% at September 30, 2025, from 97.2% at June 30, 2025. On a year-over-year basis, total portfolio occupancy increased 0.6% from 96.5% at September 30, 2024 to 97.1% at September 30, 2025.
Lease Renewal Rate Increase: During the quarter, net rental rates increased 13.5% on a volume of 543,000 square feet of lease renewals, when comparing the rental rate in the first year of the renewal term to the rental rate in the last year of the expiring term. Net rental rates on leases renewed in the quarter increased 18.7% when comparing the average rental rate over the renewal term to the rental rate in the last year of the expiring term owing to higher contractual growth rates negotiated throughout the renewed lease terms.
Average Net Rental Rate: The portfolio average net rental rate increased by 0.5% or $0.13 per square foot over the prior quarter to a record $24.57 per square foot, primarily due to rent escalations and renewal lifts.
Property Investments: During the third quarter, First Capital invested approximately $49 million into property development, redevelopment and acquisitions, including the purchase of a 50% interest in an 18 acre retail development site located in Ottawa.
Property Dispositions: During the third quarter, First Capital completed $35 million of dispositions, including Place Anjou, a development site located in Montreal.
Shares of Pet Valu Holdings Ltd. (TSX: PET) fell sharply on Tuesday, dropping 14 percent after management issued softer growth guidance for the remainder of 2025. Analysts at Stifel Nicolaus Canada, led by Martin Landry, described the market reaction as overdone, noting that the company’s fundamentals remain strong and valuation now sits below historical averages.
According to the report, same-store sales growth is expected to slow to about 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to earlier expectations of 3–4 percent. Management also cautioned that this slower pace could extend into 2026, citing consumer restraint and competitive pressures.
Despite the near-term moderation, Landry reaffirmed a Buy rating on Pet Valu shares while lowering the target price from $40.00 to $37.00. The stock closed at $29.95 prior to the downgrade, trading at 16.5 times forward earnings, below its four-year average of 19 times.
Q3 Results Slightly Below Expectations
Pet Valu reported third-quarter 2025 revenues of $289 million, an increase of 4.9 percent year-over-year, but just below analyst estimates of $294 million. Same-store sales rose 2.3 percent, supported by a modest 2 percent increase in basket size and a 0.3 percent rise in customer traffic.
Martin Landry
The retailer’s earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.40, matching Stifel’s forecast and slightly exceeding consensus estimates. Gross margin held steady at 33.5 percent, while SG&A expenses climbed by 170 basis points to 17.8 percent of sales, reflecting higher compensation, SaaS, and professional fees.
Pet Valu’s EBITDA margin fell to 22 percent, down from 23.4 percent last year, as the company invested to provide more value to customers, including lowering prices on its Performatrin Prime private-label line and select national brands.
Muted Growth Outlook, but Fundamentals Intact
For 2025, Pet Valu slightly reduced its revenue forecast by 1.3 percent, mainly due to lower same-store sales expectations. Full-year EPS guidance was also adjusted to a range of $1.63 to $1.66, still representing nearly 5 percent growth year-over-year.
Management maintained plans to open approximately 40 new stores in 2025, keeping its expansion strategy on track. While competitive pressures have intensified, particularly in the specialty channel and online, Stifel believes Pet Valu remains well positioned to capture the ongoing premiumization and humanization trends in pet care.
Supply Chain Investments Set to Boost Cash Flow
The company recently completed a $110 million, four-year supply chain upgrade, modernizing its warehouse and distribution operations. The investment, which had weighed on earnings and cash flow in recent years, is expected to unlock efficiencies and support future profit growth.
With lower capital expenditures ahead, free cash flow per share is forecast to rise 30 percent in 2026 to $2.10, implying a 6.9 percent yield. Stifel projects EPS of $1.82 in 2026 and $2.02 in 2027, as automation benefits and operational leverage begin to take hold.
Pet Valu Companions for Change Adoption & Wellness Center (Image: Pet Valu)
Traffic Recovery and Defensiveness Support Outlook
Landry’s report highlights encouraging signs of recovery in store traffic following six consecutive quarters of declines. The firm believes Pet Valu’s refreshed merchandising strategy and new culinary-inspired store layouts, already rolled out in 80 stores, will help sustain customer engagement.
By year-end, the company expects to have 120 stores featuring the enhanced design, emphasizing refrigerated product offerings and fresh food options for pets, an area where consumer spending remains resilient.
Stifel continues to view Pet Valu as part of a defensive retail sector, noting that Canada’s pet food market has declined only once in the past three decades. The company’s revenue is entirely in Canadian dollars, though about 23 percent of its cost of goods is U.S. dollar–denominated, which poses a modest currency risk.
Valuation Offers Opportunity
While Pet Valu’s earnings growth may be subdued in the short term, Stifel argues that its strong balance sheet, improving free cash flow, and expanding store network justify investor confidence.
“With a healthy balance sheet, FCF accelerating, and valuation lower than historical levels, we suggest that investors take advantage of the recent price weakness,” wrote Landry in the report.
Pet Valu currently operates over 850 stores across Canada, serving what the firm describes as the country’s most “discerning and devoted” pet owners.
Roots, the iconic premium outdoor lifestyle brand known for its heritage leather, quality sweats, and unmistakable maple leaf spirit, has introduced actor, writer, and producer Seth Rogen as the face of its Holiday 2025 campaign.
With over five decades of rich heritage, the retailer said it continues to bridge legacy and modern culture. Partnering with Rogen reaffirms the brand’s commitment to celebrating talent that embodies humour, authenticity and homegrown pride.
Dubbed, “Anything Roots,” the campaign brings humour and heart to life in a delightfully nostalgic way. Set in a warm atmosphere that plays into retro aesthetics, Rogen stars as the Holiday Concierge, challenged to keep up with a slew of customer calls to solve every gifting dilemma with wit and just the right amount of Canadian charm. From frantic last-minute shoppers to confused siblings, Rogen doles out hilarious, heartfelt advice wrapped in signature Roots spirit, explained the retailer.
Leslie Golts
“Seth Rogen embodies many of the traits associated with Roots: warmth, creativity, wittiness, authenticity and a deep sense of community,” said Leslie Golts, Chief Marketing Officer of Roots.
“For over 50 years, we have celebrated people who stay true to themselves and their roots. This campaign is a tribute to the quirks, traditions, and nostalgia that make the holidays feel like home.”
Featured as the Holiday Concierge, Rogen says in the campaign, “When it comes to holiday gift shopping, get them anything Roots – they’ll be psyched.”
Seth Rogen
Brought to life through the vision of Roots Image Director, Micah Cameron in collaboration with Roots Creative Director Joey Gollish, the campaign was directed by Josh Locy, photographed by Jacq Harriet, and produced by Chelsea Pictures and Cartel with support from the Roots marketing in-house teams. Rooted in heritage but designed for today, Anything Roots captures the joyful chaos of the holidays and the beauty of staying connected across borders, generations, and traditions, said the company.
For the ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ gift idea, fans are encouraged to call the Holiday Hotline at 1-855-ANY-THNG (269-8464), or by visiting select locations in Canada for an interactive experience.
The retailer was established in 1973 and has over 100 corporate retail stores in Canada, two stores in the United States, and an eCommerce platform.
From left to right, Paul Bromfield, Store Manager, RONA+ Nepean, Jennifer Racey, RONA+ Nepean, Clarissa Arthur (from Nelson House, RONA+ Nepean chosen charity), Mohamed-Naji El Maghnaoui, RONA+ Nepean, Paul Sarazin, District Manager, RONA inc., and Jordane Verner, RONA+ Nepean. (CNW Group/RONA inc.)
The RONA Foundation, which oversees the philanthropic activities of RONA inc., one of Canada’s leading home improvement retailers, has announced the results of its Home Sweet Home campaign, which was held from September 1 to October 12.
During this third edition, the company said it raised over $530,000, which will be presented to nearly 150 local organizations supporting victims of domestic violence, low-income families, and people with disabilities or mental health issues.
The retailer said the campaign ran in all RONA+ and RONA corporate stores, as well as several participating distribution centres and dealer stores, mobilizing a vast network and creating positive change in numerous communities across Canada. Customers were invited to contribute by donating in store, with 100% of funds raised going to organizations chosen by local teams.
Josée Lafitte
“We would like to sincerely thank our employees and customers for their generosity and commitment. Thanks to their mobilization and spirit of solidarity, we are able to support hundreds of vulnerable families and individuals by helping to revitalize their living environments or facilitate access to housing. Once again, this year, their contribution shows the importance of working together to have a real impact on our communities,” said Josée Lafitte, Director of the RONA Foundation.
The RONA Foundation is a charity established in 1998, whose mission is to help improve the quality of life of Canadians in need by revitalizing their living environments or making it easier to access housing. In particular, it aims to help victims of domestic violence and their children, low-income families, and people with disabilities or mental health issues.
RONA inc. is one of Canada’s leading home improvement retailers, headquartered in Boucherville, Québec.The RONA inc. network operates or services over 425 corporate and affiliated stores under the RONA+, RONA and Dick’s Lumber banners.
“While our performance was slightly stronger versus the prior year, we’ve seen heightened competition across the QSR category. We’re responding by investing in digital ordering, improving speed of service, and delivering craveable new offerings that will differentiate our brand and drive growth,” said Paul Goddard, President and CEO of Pizza Pizza Limited.
Third Quarter highlights:
Same store sales increased 0.1%
Royalty Pool sales increased 2.0%
Adjusted earnings per share decreased 1.3%
Restaurant network increased by 11 net locations
Year to Date highlights:
Same store salesincreased 1.1%
Royalty Pool sales increased 2.5%
Adjusted earnings per share was flat
Restaurant network increased by 14 net locations
Photo: Pizza 73
“Royalty Pool System Sales for the Quarter increased 2.0% to $158.8 million from $155.8 million in the same quarter last year. By brand, sales from the 694 Pizza Pizza restaurants in the Royalty Pool increased 2.3% to $138.0 million for the Quarter compared to $134.9 million in the same quarter last year. Sales from the 100 Pizza 73 restaurants was unchanged at $20.8 million for the Quarter compared to the same quarter last year,” said the company.
“Royalty Pool System Sales for the Period increased 2.5% to $471.5 million from $460.0 million in the same period last year. By brand, sales from the 694 Pizza Pizza restaurants in the Royalty Pool increased 2.5% to $407.2 million for the Period compared to $397.0 million in the same period last year. Sales from the 100 Pizza 73 restaurants increased 2.2% to $64.4 million for the Period compared to $63.0 million in the same period last year.
“For the Quarter and Period, the increase in Royalty Pool System Sales is driven by the same store sales and new restaurants added to the Royalty Pool on January 1, 2025. Additionally, while the number of restaurants in the Pizza 73 Royalty Pool remains less than 2019 when there were 104 restaurants, the negative impact on Royalty Pool System Sales due to prior year restaurant closures has been mitigated by the Make-Whole Carryover Amount.”
As previously announced, the number of restaurants in the company’s Royalty Pool increased by 20 net locations to 794 on the January 1, 2025 Adjustment Date, and consists of 694 Pizza Pizza restaurants and 100 Pizza 73 restaurants. The number of restaurants in the Royalty Pool will remain unchanged through 2025, it explained.
During the Quarter, Pizza Pizza Limited opened four traditional and 10 non-traditional Pizza Pizza restaurants, and closed one traditional and three non-traditional Pizza Pizza restaurants. Additionally, at the Pizza 73 brand, PPL opened two traditional restaurants and closed one traditional restaurant.
During the Period, PPL opened nine traditional and 17 non-traditional Pizza Pizza restaurants, and closed three traditional and 11 non-traditional Pizza Pizza restaurants. PPL also opened four traditional Pizza 73 restaurants, and closed two Pizza 73 traditional restaurants.
Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. Photo: Aleksandr Galenko via Unsplash
For a government that often talks about food affordability and insecurity, Budget 2025 offers surprisingly little that directly addresses either. There’s no bold food strategy, no affordability roadmap, and no new incentives for domestic food production. Yet, in between the lines, Ottawa has quietly set the stage for some indirect relief — not through grocery subsidies or consumer-facing policies, but through infrastructure, trade, and administrative reforms that could make the food system work a little more efficiently.
The largest signal comes from the government’s $115 billion infrastructure plan, one of its so-called “generational investments.” The new Trade Diversification Corridors Fund aims to modernize ports, railways, and airports — all chronic weak points in Canada’s food supply chain. When bottlenecks ease, goods move faster, and perishable products arrive fresher and cheaper. While no one in Ottawa framed this as a food-price measure, logistics efficiency has long been one of the most effective — and least visible — forms of price control.
Similarly, the creation of a Strategic Exports Office and $76 million to digitalize export certificates at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may sound technical, but such tools matter. They help processors and exporters cut paperwork delays, reduce spoilage, and restore trust in Canadian food shipments abroad. For a country still navigating trade frictions with the U.S. and China, these updates are pragmatic — and overdue.
On the farm side, $639 million in targeted support for producers and processors through AgriStability top-ups, marketing funds, and biofuel incentives will help shore up margins in a volatile global market. So will an additional $1 billion in Farm Credit Canada lending for trade-affected producers. The permanent reversal of the capital-gains tax increase gives family operators clarity on succession — an essential, if unglamorous, ingredient in long-term food supply stability.
However, even these wins come with caveats. A 15 percent cut to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s operating budget over three years could undermine the very public research capacity needed to sustain productivity and innovation. And Ottawa’s silence on extended interswitching — a measure that had given shippers access to competing rail lines — means transport costs may remain stubbornly high. For farmers and food manufacturers, those costs ultimately ripple down to the grocery aisle.
Then there’s the elephant that remains firmly in the room: the industrial carbon tax. Despite carve-outs and exceptions, the levy continues to add costs and bureaucracy throughout the agri-food chain — from grain drying and fertilizer production to processing and transportation. It may not appear in this budget’s fine print, but its cumulative impact is deeply felt. Energy-intensive operations, already squeezed by inflation and global competition, face another layer of complexity when trying to plan and price efficiently. For a sector that competes globally, this remains a structural handicap.
Where Budget 2025 speaks most clearly to Canadians’ daily lives is not in agriculture at all. The now-permanent National School Food Program, expected to reach 400,000 children a year, provides tangible relief to households struggling with food budgets — about $800 in annual savings per family, according to government estimates. And the expansion of automatic tax filing for 5.5 million low-income Canadians will ensure benefits flow more reliably to those most affected by rising food prices. These are not structural solutions, but they do make a difference where it counts.
Still, the absence of a broader vision for food affordability stands out. After years of grocery price volatility and public debate about “greedflation,” Canadians might have expected a more direct focus on food resilience — investments in innovation, local processing, or retail transparency. Instead, the government seems to have opted for a quieter, systemic approach: strengthen the arteries of trade and logistics, and trust that efficiency will trickle down to the dinner table.
It may not be the headline Canadians were hoping for, but it’s not meaningless. If ports become less congested, if digital export systems reduce friction, if farmers can plan transitions without punitive taxes — those efficiencies eventually show up in our food bills. The benefits may be indirect, but in a system as complex as Canada’s food economy, indirect can still be impactful.
Budget 2025, then, is not a food budget. But it could help make food a little more affordable — quietly, and over time.
Retail Insider is streamlining its Canadian retail news from around the web to include a handful of top news stories that can be viewed quickly during the day. Here are the top stories from the past 24 hours.
Small business owners were looking to the 2025 budget to provide critical cost relief and to improve Canada’s tax competitiveness to jump start the economy. Instead, most of the budget’s economic measures were reannouncements from 2024, said the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) on Tuesday following the release of the federal budget.
“Today was a missed opportunity to provide meaningful tax relief to Canada’s employers. The government could have taken the reins by reducing the small business corporate tax rate, freeing up millions of dollars for investment in employees, technology and operations,” said Dan Kelly, CFIB’s President.
Dan Kelly
“Government finances are a mess, but the budget just slows the growth in program spending with overall deficits above $50 billion per year as far as the eye can see. Small firms have learned the hard way that today’s deficits are tomorrow’s taxes.
“In addition to the lack of tax relief and giant fiscal deficits, many of the measures meant to stimulate the economy or insulate Canadians from the impact of tariffs appear to exclude small firms.”
• The $51-billion Building Communities Fund is to focus on projects using unionized labour, which would effectively exclude 90% of small businesses. • The $1-billion Regional Tariff Response Initiative delivered by Regional Development Agencies misses the mark and excludes over half of small businesses that will be deemed too small or in the wrong sector. • The Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive announced in budget 2024, repeated in the Fall Economic Statement and confirmed as recently as January 2025, has now been officially cancelled.
But Kelly said there were a few wins for small business owners in the budget, albeit many were reannouncements from 2024.
• Government is reintroducing the Accelerated Capital Cost Allowance on most capital assets and immediate expensing provisions. The budget also extends immediate expensing to manufacturing and processing buildings. This is a sound way to improve productivity among many Canadian SMEs. • Legislation to increase the Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption to $1.25 million has been confirmed. This is an important measure to help with small business succession plans. • Legislation to remove income taxes from the Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) for Small Business and to extend the deadline will be introduced. CFIB has also confirmed with government sources that the $623 million in CCR payments for 2024/25 will be distributed before the end of the year.
“While progress was made on a few fronts, there were very few new measures that will offer immediate help for small business owners trying to keep the lights on.”
Restaurants Canada said it is underwhelmed by the lack of measures addressing cost of living in Budget 2025 and alarmed about further cuts to immigration that will make it even more challenging for foodservice businesses to hire for hard-to-fill roles and in rural, remote and tourism areas.
“We are disappointed that the budget doesn’t include sufficient measures to improve everyday affordability for Canadians, including Restaurants Canada’s ask to exempt all food from GST. At a time when people struggle to afford essentials and food inflation in particular has been outpacing the rate of general inflation, we need more immediate action on this issue from our government,” it said.
“Our analysis of the GST/HST holiday earlier this year suggests that a permanent exemption for prepared food could create up to 80,000 jobs in foodservice and related industries, including many youth jobs, save $5.4 billion in taxes for consumers and lead to $1.5 billion in additional tax revenue and EI savings for government. Restaurants Canada will continue our advocacy on this recommendation.”
Photo by Mario Toneguzzi
Restaurants Canada said it is incredibly concerned with the extreme reduction in temporary resident admissions from 673,650 in 2025 to 370,000 in 2027. The budget not only further cuts immigration levels but also does not recognize the importance of the foodservice industry in its updated immigration plan or provide a path forward for our sector to fill vacant roles.
“Temporary residents make up a small part of our total workforce, but they fill essential positions like chefs and cooks, hard-to-staff overnight shifts and roles in rural, remote and tourism regions where there are not enough local workers available. These workers allow our industry to be the fourth largest private sector employer, with over 1.2 million workers in every community. If a restaurant can’t hire a trained sushi chef, for example, it may have to cut staff hours or opening hours, or close entirely, putting Canadian jobs in jeopardy,” it said.
“We are, however, encouraged that the plan will consider the unique needs of rural and remote communities. We urge the government to allow the foodservice industry to access this labour pool.”
While we appreciate that the budget includes measures to help youth upskill, we are disappointed that it does not include any concrete measures to stimulate youth jobs. The foodservice industry has been the number one source of first-time jobs for youth for decades. In fact, 42% of the restaurant industry’s workforce is currently youth–we employ over 500,000 youth, representing one in five youth jobs in the country. We encourage the federal government to ensure that restaurants are eligible to participate in programs like the Canada Summer Jobs, the horizontal Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, and the Student Work Placement Program, added the national organization.
“We welcome the government’s commitment to improve public safety by expanding the capacity of the RCMP to hire 1,000 personnel to increase federal policing capacity across Canada. Restaurants are often at the forefront of public safety issues as they are public facing. While operators care deeply about their communities, they are ill-equipped to handle substance abuse and mental health concerns which threaten the safety of their staff and customers and cost them thousands in damages and increased security costs.”
Kelly Higginson
“The foodservice industry is at a turning point—we are facing intense pressure from rising input costs and reduced consumer spending, and yet we have outpaced other industries in job creation over the past year. We need government to recognize our important role in the economic strength of not just communities, but the country as a whole, and invest in our industry,” said Kelly Higginson, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation criticized Prime Minister Mark Carney for ballooning spending and debt in Budget 2025.
Franco Terrazzano
“Budget 2025 shows the debt continues to spiral out of control because spending continues to spiral out of control,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “Carney needs to reverse course to get debt and spending under control because every dollar Canadians pay in federal sales tax is already going to pay interest charges on the debt.
“Carney isn’t close to balancing anything when he’s borrowing tens of billions of dollars every year.”
The federal deficit will increase significantly this year to $78.3 billion. There is no plan to balance the budget and stop borrowing money. The federal debt will reach $1.35 trillion by the end of this year, said the organization.
It said debt interest charges will cost taxpayers $55.6 billion this year, which is more than the federal government will send to the provinces in health transfers ($54.7 billion) or collect through the GST ($54.4 billion).
Budget 2025 increases spending by $38 billion this year to $581 billion.
Despite promises to control spending in future years, Budget 2025 projects that overall spending will continue to rise by billions every year, said the CTF.
Photo: Anna Shvets
“Canadians don’t need another plan to create a plan to meet about cutting spending, Canadians need real spending cuts now,” Terrazzano said. “The government always tells Canadians that it will go on a diet Monday, but Monday never comes.
“And the government isn’t really finding savings if it’s planning to keep increasing spending every year.”
Budget 2025 commits to “strengthening” the industrial carbon tax and “setting a multi-decade industrial carbon price trajectory that targets net zero by 2050.”
“Carney’s hidden carbon tax will make it harder for Canadian businesses to compete and will push Canadian entrepreneurs to set up shop south of the border,” Terrazzano said. “Carney should scrap all carbon taxes, cut spending and stop taking so much money from taxpayers.”
Lobby area in the updated Cassels office at Bay Adelaide Centre – North Tower, 40 Temperance St Suite 3200, in Toronto. Photo: Gensler
Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP has spent decades building depth in real estate and development law. In recent years, the firm has sharpened its edge in retail leasing, assembling a cross-country team that many market participants now view as the benchmark for complex, time-sensitive commercial leasing work. The Cassels leasing practice did not arrive at that position by accident. It reflects deliberate recruitment, industry leadership, and a client service model tuned to the speed and nuance of retail and mixed-use deals.
In an interview, Senior Counsel and Commercial Leasing team lead Cory Sherman described how the group reached scale and why it resonates with retailers and landlords navigating a fast-changing market. “Cassels has a progressive attitude coupled with an old school way of servicing its clients. As long as I’ve been practicing, Cassels has had a robust real estate team,” he said, noting the profiles of partners such as David Redmond, Jonathan Freeman, and Natasha Jimeno, and the active leasing and broader real estate expertise of Andrew Salem and Armen Khajetoorian. Sherman joined in spring 2023 after leading a boutique firm for roughly 30 years, a move that served as an accelerant for the leasing practice at Cassels. “It has been really fantastic,” he said. “The performance of our practice group has exceeded the expectations that any of us had within the firm.”
Cory Sherman
For retailers, developers, REITs, and financial institutions, that momentum matters. Canada’s shopping centres and urban high streets are resurfacing after a decade of anchor store retrenchment and redevelopment. Restaurant and hospitality concepts are scaling quickly, and new-to-Canada banners continue to enter gateway markets before expanding nationally. In that context, capacity, judgment, and relationships carry real value at the negotiating table. The Cassels commercial leasing practice has been built with those realities in mind.
Building a national team with sector depth
Sherman recounts that Cassels’ leadership approached him in late 2022 about deepening the platform around a full-blown retail leasing team. The proposition was straightforward. The firm had strong leasing DNA led by Armen Khajetoorian, a national footprint in Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, and a bench already trusted by sophisticated clients. With the right additions, it could set the market standard for retail and mixed-use leasing across Canada.
“We talked for three to six months and eventually made the decision to come here,” said Sherman. “Cassels was open and welcoming. They gave me a lot of autonomy over what I felt I needed to do to move the practice to a large firm.” That autonomy included practical elements that matter in this specialty. “We have a volume-based practice,” he explained. “They allowed us to continue to be flexible on billing arrangements and rates, which are really important to our clientele.”
Sherman arrived with long-time colleague and rising star Caterina White, immediately strengthening the senior end of the roster. The group then added a partner and a senior associate from large national firms, deepening coverage for both landlord and tenant mandates. Home grown associates joined to scale up on time-critical transactions, and the team formalized collaboration with colleagues in Calgary and Vancouver. “We now have a truly national presence,” said Sherman, “which is something our clients need as they grow nationally themselves. I believe that our clients appreciate the business-like approach that we bring to every transaction that we are retained on.”
Cassels growth in this sector aligned with where leasing demand has been strongest. “We do a lot on the restaurant and hospitality side,” said Sherman. Apparel remains active, but the runway today is in experiences, quick-service, and chef-driven concepts that can backfill large footprints or stitch into mixed-use podiums with heavy foot traffic. The Cassels commercial leasing practice evolved in step with that shift, keeping pace with the cadence of rollouts and the realities of construction and operations in dense urban settings.
Cassels office at Bay Adelaide Centre – North Tower, 40 Temperance St Suite 3200, in Toronto. Photo: Gensler
Why specialization matters for retailers
Sherman is clear about why sector-specific counsel helps retailers. “Larger companies and smaller growing companies have realized that they’re much better off seeking someone that has the very specific expertise that they need,” he said. In leasing, that expertise is partly technical and partly relational. “The relationships that we have in our commercial leasing group with opposing landlords, and their legal counsel, add value to what we can offer to our clients. We know each other. It’s a small bar. Over time there’s a trust.”
That trust lowers friction when speed matters. Many deals arrive at counsel’s desk after tenants and landlords have aligned on business terms. Sherman frames the lawyer’s role succinctly. “It is our job as counsel to finalize that agreement in order to enhance the relationship that has already begun,” he said. “We need to advise our clients, point out issues, and look for middle ground. The last thing we want to do is interfere with the deal or to delay it.” It is a philosophy that prioritizes outcomes and preserves relationships, two things retailers value when rollouts hinge on tight critical paths.
The clause that saved a client seven figures
Experience shows up most clearly in the fine print. Sherman shared a matter that underscores how small drafting choices can protect a client’s business. Several years ago, he represented a retail apparel company leasing a large building for a distribution centre in British Columbia. During construction, a dispute erupted over who had to pay for significant structural work related to seismic upgrading.
“We had made some changes during lease negotiations,” he recalled. The team inserted “two or three words” into the clause covering upgrades, clarifying that if general structural upgrading was required, it was the landlord’s responsibility. The dispute went to court. The tenant prevailed. “That one sticks with me,” said Sherman. “Words matter in our practice.” It is a message he passes on to his associates and students. Diligence at the negotiation stage can determine whether a store opens on time or a P&L absorbs an unexpected capital expense.
Distribution centre, Photo: Wikipedia
Training the next generation to serve at speed
Cassels’ internal culture is another part of the story. The group has institutionalized a mentorship track to accelerate the development of younger lawyers. “We try to include students and junior associates in calls and files from the very beginning,” said Sherman. “We want to provide client-facing experience as quickly as we can so they can learn the soft skills.” The technical side is tackled through a monthly meeting led by partners such as White and Khajetoorian, walking through topics such as operating costs, transfer provisions, and the compromises that mark real time negotiations. “We also have a broad range of precedents,” he added, giving new lawyers a practical scaffold for drafting under time pressure.
The emphasis on service etiquette is deliberate. “How you treat a client, how you talk to people, the whole client service aspect,” said Sherman. “We start from the very beginning on that. I believe that we are able to form true partnerships with our clients.” For retailers and restaurant chains that are balancing openings across multiple provinces, those soft skills and predictable workflows are as important as red-line prowess.
Mixed-use, podium retail, and the realities of opening day
Leasing into mixed-use projects is now a mainstay of Canadian development. Retailers increasingly occupy ground and second levels beneath residential or office towers, bringing unique constraints that can surprise first-time entrants. Sherman’s team has advised on several of the country’s most prominent projects, including Sugar Wharf in Toronto, as well as several First Capital developments in key urban nodes such as Yorkville Village.
“If there’s a condo above, you have to be very careful and aware of the condominium documents,” he said. Declarations, bylaws, and rules can restrict hours of operation, amplified music, loading windows, and food odours. “A restaurant may have to limit its hours from what they’re normally used to unless they can get an exception from the condo board.” Office components bring their own constraints, although typically less restrictive than residential.
Timing is another flashpoint. “A restaurant doesn’t want to open when there’s construction all above and around them,” Sherman noted. Hoarding, noise, and restricted access can damage first impressions. “You only get one chance to open,” he said. Getting the opening conditions right in the lease is now standard practice for experienced tenants and a point of negotiation where the Cassels commercial leasing practice invests considerable attention.
One Bloor East – deals for Nike and Mango stores involved Cassels’ legal expertise (Image: First Capital REIT)
After anchors: how Canadian malls are being rebuilt
Sherman remains bullish on Canadian retail, even as the department store era recedes. “There’s obviously been a transition over the last decade with the department stores,” he said, pointing to closures that hit Canada more sharply than the United States. Yet the story after anchors is one of adaptation. “Those old Target and Nordstrom boxes were carved up in the better shopping centres into all kinds of interesting retail,” he said. New-to-market banners, expanding global brands, and a wave of restaurants and entertainment uses continue to backfill space at properties with strong trade areas and transit.
Where the reckoning has been more acute is in the B and C malls, which have struggled to re-tenant efficiently. That is where large-scale redevelopment and residential intensification are most visible. Gateway centres and top regional malls, by contrast, continue to attract international brands and capitalize on densification, adding non-retail anchors such as clinics, fitness, and culture.
Process, not theatre: a practical approach to negotiation
Sherman’s description of day-to-day work at Cassels is pragmatic. Deals arrive either with a binding offer or a detailed term sheet. Retailers want issues identified, but they do not want the business relationship jolted by legal theatre.
That approach is one reason that the Cassels commercial leasing practice is busy across both sides of the table, acting for landlords on signature developments and for national tenants moving at pace. It is also why the team is visible at industry forums. Cassels partners are frequent speakers at the International Council of Shopping Centers and other professional gatherings where case law, best practices, and drafting trends are debated.
Cassels is located at Bay Adelaide Centre – North Tower, 40 Temperance St Suite 3200, in Toronto. Photo: VTS Marketplace
Canada’s retail rebound favours the prepared
Canada’s retail landscape continues to evolve, from luxury to quick-service to experience-driven formats designed for dense communities. Redevelopment is reshaping centres, and mixed-use projects are redefining what it means to be a “mall.” In this environment, retailers need legal partners who can operate at speed, protect downside risk, and preserve relationships with landlords who may be partners on future locations as well.
Cassels has positioned itself for that reality. The firm’s history in real estate and development, combined with targeted recruitment and a mentorship engine, has yielded a team that understands both the business and the law of opening doors. “We’re working in good faith to quickly and efficiently come to an agreement so that the parties can then move on,” said Sherman. That is a simple statement, but it doubles as a strategy for a sector where time to opening is everything. For retailers mapping growth over the next two years, it is exactly the posture they will want at the table.
For more information on Cassels Retail Practice, visit: cassels.com
This article was created in partnership with Cassels. To collaborate with Retail Insider, contact insider@retail-insider.com.
