Intelligent Investment
Montreal Market
Global Life Sciences Atlas
April 11, 2025 5 Minute Read
Overview
- Montreal’s life sciences cluster benefits from more than 570,000 people working in health services and professional, scientific and technical services.
- Over the past 30 years, research and development (R&D) spaces have tended to cluster together in four primary hubs and one emerging in the Greater Montreal Area (GMA), unlike Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) facilities, which are generally located in various industrial parks.
- CBRE is currently tracking 5.8 million sq. ft. of lab and GMP life sciences spaces in GMA with a vacancy rate of 5.9%.
- Current demand for space in GMA totals roughly 461,000 sq. ft., about two-thirds directed toward R&D.
- Most tenants are seeking space in the established hubs in the Laval Biotech City, the West Island, as well as in the emerging Downtown hub, mainly due to the proximity to research institutes, universities, hospitals, workforce and public transit.
- Montreal’s life sciences ecosystem stands out from other major North American cities as the most affordable in terms of real estate costs and labor. Net or Base Lab rental rates average $41.68 per sq. ft.
- Montreal has become a hub for artificial intelligence (AI), which is becoming an integral part of the drug discovery process. We expect to see increased convergence between AI and life sciences in the coming years and Montreal to benefit as the 12th-ranked North American market for tech talent.
Submarkets
Industry Presence
Figure 1: Greater Montreal Lab Space Inventory by Submarket
Source: CBRE Research, Q4 2024.
Life Sciences Venture Capital Investment Trends
Figure 2: Life Sciences Venture Capital Funding
Life Sciences Market Stats
- Total Inventory: 5.8 million sq. ft.
- Vacancy Rate: 5.9%
- Average GMA lab rents: $41.68
Development Pipeline or Activity
- Roughly 93,750 sq. ft. of life sciences space is currently proposed or underway to expand Montreal’s life sciences ecosystem.
Featured Project
- Inspire Bio Innovations
- Inspire Bio Innovations is a multi-phase office and research laboratory development adjacent to Montreal, Canada’s downtown core, consisting of labs, offices, collaborative spaces and a future incubator, which will be fed by world renown universities such as McGill and University of Montreal.
- This lab project is becoming the focal point of a world-class, state-of-the-art, life sciences ecosystem that caters to biotech and pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, Montreal’s thriving student body, university researchers and innovative startups. Inspire Bio Innovations will work closely with its neighbor, the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) via a shared-service agreement to include an animal facility for preclinical trials, as well as shared equipment and instrumentation rooms.
- Anchor tenant CellCarta, a leading provider of specialized precision medical laboratory services, will take occupancy of approximately 90,000 rentable sq. ft. in Phase 1 in Q2 2025.
- Bellus Health
- Biodextris
- BridgeBio
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Cellcarta
- Dynacare
- Intellisyn
- IRSST
- Modera
- Nexelis
- NuChem Sciences
- Paraza Pharma
- Pharmascience
- Repare Therapeutics
- AdMare BioInnovations Centre (formerly Neomed Institute)
- Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM)
- McGill University
- National Research Council Canada (NRC)
- Quebec Center for Innovation in Biotechnology (QCIB)
- University of Montreal
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 New Jersey life sciences cluster is one of the nation’s most mature, with deep, historical presence of the pharmaceutical industry. Almost 83,000 people work in the local industry, the fourth-largest workforce in the U.S.
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Lab inventory in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) clusters around three research hubs: the Discovery District, in downtown Toronto.