Caisse, B.C. billionaire Ryan Beedie partner to buy and develop industrial property across Canada

One of Western Canada’s top property developers, Ryan Beedie, is teaming up with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to buy and develop industrial real estate nationally.

His company, Burnaby, B.C.-based Beedie Holdings Ltd., has sold a half-share in six warehouses and distribution centres to the pension management giant for $500-million. The portfolio includes four Vancouver-area properties, one in Calgary and another under construction in Toronto. Together, they total 2.7 million square feet of leasable space and include facilities used by Sobeys, Aritzia and Amazon. Beedie will manage the properties.

The partners have also agreed to buy or build up to $2-billion of additional industrial properties in large cities in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. The Caisse has committed $500-million for that expansion. Beedie will source deals and contribute 25 per cent or 50 per cent of the equity capital on a case-by-case basis; the Caisse will contribute the balance of the equity. The remaining will be debt-financed. The joint venture will target existing, larger-scale structures or land where a building can be constructed within three years.

“The Caisse has been clear in saying, as have we, that we want this relationship to continue to grow,” Todd Yuen, president, industrial at Beedie, said in an interview.

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It’s the second joint venture this year in the sector for the Caisse, which had $552-billion of assets under management as of June 30. In April, it partnered with San Francisco-based giant Prologis Inc., which owns, develops and manages logistics and distribution warehouses for Amazon, the Home Depot, FedEx and others. With €1-billion ($1.6-billion) in seed assets, that venture, which is 70 per cent owned by the Caisse, will initially combine income-generating properties and development sites contributed by both partners across Europe and Britain.

Rana Ghorayeb, executive vice-president and head of real estate with the Caisse, said in a statement: “By combining our capital and investment expertise with Beedie’s proven operating capabilities and deep market knowledge, we have created a scalable investment vehicle to build a portfolio of quality industrial assets in some of Canada’s most strategic markets. This partnership strengthens our ability to capture compelling opportunities alongside one of Canada’s leading operators.”

The Caisse has remodelled its real estate holdings this decade, boosting its exposure to logistics and residential properties while pulling back on shopping malls and office buildings. It made $4.4-billion of property-related acquisitions in 2025, including data centres and student residences.

Demand for warehouses and other industrial real estate has picked up after two years of relatively lower investment in the sector. There were $6.6-billion of industrial deals in Canada in the first half of 2026, according to commercial real estate services company CBRE. That is slightly higher than the same period last year and does not include the proposed $3.4-billion acquisition of H&R Real Estate Investment Trust. CBRE industrial expert Matthew Brown said industrial investment this year could surpass 2023’s record of $20.7-billion. He said large investors are returning to the space, including pension funds, foreign capital providers and high-net-worth individuals.

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The Caisse deal marks the latest step by Mr. Beedie, one of B.C.’s wealthiest entrepreneurs and most prominent philanthropists, to expand the scope and scale of his business beyond the regional development company founded 70 years ago by his late father, Keith. Mr. Beedie has led the company since 2001.

Beedie oversees 24.4 million square feet of industrial space, including buildings it co-owns or manages for others. It’s the largest industrial developer in B.C. and one of Royal Bank of Canada’s two largest corporate lending clients.

In the 2000s, Beedie expanded beyond that traditional base into residential condominium development (it had 944 units under construction at the end of 2025) and financing mining and technology companies. It is the largest shareholder in Artemis Gold Inc., with a stake valued at more than $2.7-billion, and this year it bought a half-stake in one of Canada’s most consistently successful tech financiers, Vistara Capital Partners Ltd. The Caisse deal marks the first time Beedie will manage outside capital.

“This is a pivotal moment for us,” Mr. Beedie said in an interview. “It allows us to scale and become a truly national company.”

Beedie set out last year to seek a deep-pocketed institutional partner to help finance its expansion and enable it to better compete with Prologis and Irvine, Calif.-based Panattoni Development Co. Inc. “To be partners with the Caisse and their millions of pensioners, it feels pretty good to think the work we’re doing may contribute at least a bit to the benefit of Canadians that rely on them,” Mr. Beedie said.

The deal could eventually create a path for Mr. Beedie to exit more of his real estate holdings, given that none of his three adult children work in the business. While “this is not something for the near-term, it’s potentially another benefit if down the road we are looking for more liquidity events, as you have a ready built-in partner to work on that,” he said.

With reports from Rachelle Younglai and Nicolas Van Praet