Public-Private Partnership
Learn about public-private partnerships (P3s) in Canada — what they are, how they work, and why they’re used for infrastructure projects.
August 01, 2025
What is a Public-Private Partnership?
A public-private partnership (P3) is a collaborative arrangement between a government agency and a private-sector company to finance, build, and operate infrastructure projects or deliver services.
Why Public-Private Partnerships Matter in Real Estate
In Canadian real estate and infrastructure, P3s help governments leverage private capital and expertise to complete large-scale projects efficiently.
Key features:
- Shared risk and responsibility between public and private partners
- Long-term contracts outlining performance standards
- Used for transportation, hospitals, schools, and utilities
Understanding P3s helps developers and municipalities explore financing and delivery models for major infrastructure needs.
Example of a Public-Private Partnership in Action
The city entered a public-private partnership to build and operate a new light rail transit line.
Key Takeaways
- Combines public oversight and private investment
- Used for major infrastructure and facilities
- Shares risks and rewards between parties
- Requires detailed, long-term agreements
- Can accelerate project delivery and innovation
6525 Mississauga Road and its surrounding context. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
Property details for 6525 Mississauga Road. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)