Intelligent Investment
Greater Toronto Market
Global Life Sciences Atlas
April 11, 2025 5 Minute Read
Overview
- Lab inventory in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) clusters around three research hubs: the Discovery District, in downtown Toronto; Mississauga, to the north and south of the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus; and Hamilton, around McMaster University and its innovation park.
- CBRE is currently tracking 12.4 million sq. ft. of life sciences space in the GTHA—lab and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)—with a current availability rate of 1.4%.
- Current demand for space in the GTHA is estimated at 850,000 sq. ft., with slightly more than half for labs and half for GMP.
- While most tenants are looking for space close to or within major research hubs, the greatest area of need is for built-out (turnkey) lab space.
- As Toronto has very little available space, either existing or under construction, the lab rental rates average $66.50 per sq. ft. net.
- While the majority of global pharma giants locate their Canadian operations in Toronto, very few tenants fill the gap between the pharma giants and early-stage startups. Toronto has become a global leader for AI development and tech talent, and this trend should help elevate the life sciences sector and attract more medium to large Canadian companies.
Submarkets
Industry Presence
Figure 1: Laboratory Inventory by City
Other municipalities include Aurora, Bowmanville, Caledon, Gormley, Pickering, Whitby and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
Source: CBRE Research, Q1 2025.
Life Sciences Venture Capital Investment Trends
Figure 2: Life Sciences Venture Capital Funding
Development Pipeline or Activity
- Currently just over 550,000 sq. ft. of development projects range from planned to recently completed and ready for tenant improvements.
Featured Projects:
- OmniaBio at McMaster Innovation Park
190 Longwood Road South, Hamilton, Ontario- Hamilton Submarket
- 114,950 sq. ft.
- Leaside Innovation Campus
156 Wicksteed Avenue, Toronto, Ontario- East York Submarket
- 89,000 Sq. Ft.
- Planned
- The Catalyst
77 Wade Avenue, Toronto, Ontario- The Junction Submarket
- 155,000 sq. ft.
- Under Construction Q2 2025
- (Source: Seeker Labs, Colliers)
- Abbott
- Amgen
- AstraZeneca
- Bayer
- Bureau Veritas
- Gilead
- Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals
- Medtronic
- Novo Nordisk
- Resilience Biotechologies
- Roche
- Sanofi
- Stryker
- David Braley Research Institute
- Hamilton Health Sciences
- Krembil Research Institute
- McMaster University
- National Research Council Canada (NRC)
- Princess Margaret Cancer Research Institute
- University Health Network
- University of Toronto
- Vector Institute
- Women’s College Research Institute
Global Life Science Markets
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The Boston-Cambridge life sciences cluster, reflecting the Greater Boston metropolitan area, is the premier location for the life sciences industry on the U.S. East Coast.
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The Chicago life sciences cluster is the largest in the U.S. Midwest region.
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The Philadelphia life sciences cluster is one of the most important in the U.S., with a strong, longstanding presence of the big pharma industry, and has also emerged recently as a top center for cell and gene therapy innovation.