RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust continues to experience strong leasing performance and near-record occupancy levels, driven by the quality of its portfolio and disciplined asset management, according to Oliver Harrison, the company’s Senior Vice President, Leasing & Tenant Experience.
RioCan’s operating momentum accelerated in Q3 2025, driven by strong tenant retention and replacement, and resilient demand for necessity-based retail core. Committed occupancy rose to 97.8% and retail occupancy reached 98.4%.
In an interview, Harrison said RioCan’s consistent leasing success is the result of strategic focus and market fundamentals that favour high-quality retail properties.
“It’s driven by a number of factors, but first and foremost, I think it relies heavily on our focus on tenant quality and disciplined asset management,” he said.
Harrison described RioCan’s retail holdings as “an extraordinary portfolio that encompasses premium retail spaces,” adding that limited new supply and high barriers to entry in the markets where the company operates have helped sustain strong performance.
“For the markets that we’re operating in, there are exceptionally high barriers to entry, really making any meaningful new supply unlikely,” he said.
According to Harrison, this supply constraint coincides with continued demand from “strong, top-tier, necessity-based retailers” seeking expansion opportunities.
“The combination of those two factors, extraordinarily low supply and strong tenant demand based on strong retailer performance, is helping to create the environment that we are currently thriving in,” he said.
Retail leasing environment “best in 26 years”
Harrison, who has been with RioCan for more than two decades, said the current retail market is the healthiest he has seen in his career.
“I’ve been at RioCan for 26 years,” he said. “I definitely think this is the best retail environment that I’ve ever seen in my career.”
He said key business indicators continue to move in a positive direction.
“The trend continues to be positive as it relates to key metrics that we use to evaluate the health of our business, occupancy, new leasing spreads, renewal spreads and retention ratio,” he said. “The trend line is and has been positive for quite some time, and I don’t really see that situation changing in the near future.”
Uptick in office leasing
While RioCan is primarily known for its retail portfolio, Harrison noted that the company’s office holdings have also begun to show improvement.
“We are starting to see an uptick in activity in our office portfolio,” he said. Although office space makes up a smaller portion of RioCan’s overall assets, he said “there are some objective ways of evaluating that sector as starting to pick up some momentum,” including higher occupancy and increased demand from larger space users.
Grocery retailers lead tenant demand
When asked about the types of retailers driving leasing activity, Harrison said grocery stores remain among the most aggressive in expanding their footprints.
“Demand is still the strongest from the grocery retailers,” he said. That momentum, he added, has held steady since the pandemic. “Nothing really has changed from the last quarter, and quite frankly, sort of post-pandemic, as it relates to the insatiable demand of grocery retailers for more locations.”
Continued momentum
Harrison said RioCan remains pleased with its performance across the board.
“We’re very pleased with our results and the positive momentum that we continue to generate, largely driven by the quality of our portfolio and the quality of our tenant base,” he said.
Despite broader market challenges, Harrison said RioCan’s fundamentals remain strong, supported by disciplined management and resilient tenant demand. “The trend continues to be positive,” he said, emphasizing the company’s confidence in the retail market’s outlook.
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