AI is expected to be a major growth driver for Vancouver’s tech industry and office space demand over the next decade, according to a new report.
The commercial real estate market could be reshaped as AI adoption scales across industries and transforms business, said the 2026 Tech Gateway Office Markets report by CBRE Ltd.
The report, released Monday, examined how a tech growth cycle is accelerating leasing activity in 17 markets in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Vancouver saw greater tech industry office leasing activity in 2025 compared to 2023, said the May 11 report.
It was among 12 of the 17 markets that saw increased tech leasing activity, with the largest percentage gains in Manhattan, Toronto and Boston, said the report.
Vancouver saw a rising vacancy rate over the past two years—it increased by about 16 per cent during that period—but the city recorded positive net absorption growth and positive annual rent growth in 2025, said the report.
In Canada more broadly, the tech industry accounted for 14.7 per cent of total leasing in 2025 or 2.8 million square feet. This volume was 55 per cent higher than 2023 but well below peak levels in 2019, similar to the U.S., the report said.
The tech industry share of total Canadian office leasing increased to 32.2 per cent or 1.4 million square feet in the first quarter of 2026, up from 15 per cent in 2025, said the report.
CBRE said AI will create entirely new business opportunities much like mobile devices enabled the app economy more than a decade ago.
It said venture capital (VC) funding reached a record high in 2025 in the U.S., Canada and Europe, and that AI is accounting for a rising share of VC funding.
“The technology industry is in the early stages of what could be a large growth cycle driven by AI development and deployment,” said the report.
“AI innovation will likely create more jobs than it replaces and increase office space leasing demand in tech gateway office markets,” it said.
Still, the report noted that AI-related job cuts are increasing as many tech companies reposition their workforces and capital expenditures.
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