As of 2022, we have redefined the Saskatoon retail submarkets to refine our reporting and provide specific data on the retail areas relevant to our market. The result of this data reporting process created a net absorption of 372,093 square feet for 2021, and a decrease in city-wide vacancy from 5.7% in 2020 to 3.7% 2021.
One word that describes the Saskatoon retail market in a post-pandemic world is resilience. Thanks in large part to the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy program, the dire predictions of high double-digit retail vacancy rates did not materialize in 2021. Although the impact due to the ever-changing public health measures unevenly impacted retailers, the sector moved from crisis in 2020 to stability and recovery in the latter half of 2021.
