Part 1: Return to the Office Series - Predicting the Return to the Office

AMERICAS: CANADA

RETURN TO THE OFFICE FORECAST Best Guess: April/May 2022 – Prior to the pandemic, only 4% of employees in Canada worked remotely, according to Statistics Canada. 14 That rate has ballooned to more than 30% of the workforce and raised questions about the path for return to the office in the next several quarters. Canada has some of the world’s highest vaccination rates and, somewhat paradoxically, some of the most restrictive COVID-19 measures. Toronto, the largest city and biggest office market, just recently ended the longest indoor dining ban in the world. 15 Masks and social distancing are still required in Toronto for virtually all environments—everything from public transportation, to grocery stores, coffee shops and other retail—and vaccine passports are now being rolled out on a province-by-province basis. We foresee a slow return to office in Canada, perhaps stretching into mid-2022. It is, of course, dependent on both public health measures and schools remaining open continuously.

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