A U.S. investor who puts $10,000 CAD into a Canadian REIT yielding 5.4% collects about $540 CAD in distributions over a year. Roughly $81 CAD of it never arrives. Canada's default Part XIII tax on income paid to non-residents is 25%, and the Canada-U.S. tax treaty caps tax on trust distributions to U.S. residents at "15 per cent of the gross amount of the income."
The bill arrives after year-end. Non-resident unitholders get an NR4 slip with the withheld tax in box 17, as Dream Office REIT explains in its non-resident tax guidance, and the math is blunt: a 5.4% headline yield becomes about 4.6% for a U.S. holder, and closer to 4.0% for anyone paying the full 25%.
That changes the screen. The one that matters is the yield left after Canada's share, backed by a business that can grow the payout faster than withholding erodes it. Four Canadian REITs pass it from different corners of the market: Granite REIT (GRT.UN) in logistics, Choice Properties (CHP.UN) in grocery-anchored retail, RioCan (REI.UN) in urban retail, and Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN) in seniors housing.
Units of a listed trust are securities, not homes. That keeps this route open while Canada's ban on residential purchases by non-Canadians runs to 2027, and as of July, "the government has yet to announce a decision on the Act's future." Prices and ratios below are as of Oct. 22, 2026.
Granite REIT (GRT.UN)
Why it stands out
Granite owns 139 income-producing logistics, warehouse and industrial properties in Canada, the United States and Europe. It is the cleanest growth story of the four. In its second-quarter release, FFO per unit rose to $1.56 CAD from $1.39 CAD a year earlier, in-place occupancy climbed 220 basis points to 98.0%, and constant-currency same property NOI on a cash basis grew 8.3%.
Management narrowed 2026 FFO guidance to $6.30 CAD to $6.40 CAD per unit. At $85.89 CAD, the units trade at about 13.5 times the midpoint and 0.91 times book, with a 4.13% yield, per Granite valuation data. The multiple is undemanding. After 15% treaty withholding, a U.S. holder keeps about 3.51%, and the 70% AFFO payout ratio in the quarter leaves room for further increases after distributions paid per unit rose to $0.89 CAD in the quarter from $0.85 CAD.
Leasing is still adding to that. Granite signed second-quarter renewals and new leases at 7% above expiring rents, filled the last 52,500 square feet of a business park in Tennessee, and carries a weighted average lease term of 5.1 years. Net leverage fell to 32% from 35% at year-end.
One detail is easy to miss. By Aug. 5, Granite had sold 1.43 million units this year through its at-the-market program, raising $138.4 million CAD at an average of $96.61 CAD, roughly 12% above today's price. Buyers today pay less per unit than the trust itself charged for new equity this summer.
U.S. holders should also note a plumbing change. Granite's last NYSE trading day was Dec. 31, 2025, with an OTCQX quotation slated to begin on or about Jan. 2, 2026, and Granite told unitholders they did not need to exchange certificates or take any other action. The TSX listing continues.
Risks
Magna is the concentration risk. Magna International still accounts for 26% of annualized revenue, per Granite's quarterly disclosure. Currency moves cut both ways: the guidance range itself is driven by U.S. dollar, euro and pound assumptions, and the quarter included fair value losses at select European properties as discount and terminal cap rates widened.
Choice Properties (CHP.UN)
Why it stands out
Choice is the defensive income pick. Its second-quarter results show period-end occupancy of 97.7%, same-asset cash NOI growth of 2.8% and long-term renewal spreads of 19.0%. The bigger news came after quarter-end, when Choice and Loblaw renewed a full tranche of 50 leases expiring in 2027, covering 3.55 million square feet, at a weighted average spread of 8.8% and a 5.0-year extension. That takes a large block of grocery rent off the renewal calendar.
Industrial does more lifting than the grocery name suggests. Industrial occupancy stands at 98.6%, industrial renewals were signed 40.2% above expiring rents, and NAV per unit rose 2.4% from a year earlier to $14.73 CAD, which anchors the valuation.
Valuation is plain. Choice targets 2026 FFO of about $1.08 CAD to $1.10 CAD per unit, and at $15.03 CAD the units trade at 13.8 times the midpoint and about 2% above that NAV. The 5.19% yield, per Choice valuation data, becomes about 4.41% after 15% withholding. Price-to-book sits at 1.16.
Risks
Growth is slow. Diluted FFO per unit rose just 0.8% in the quarter, held back by refinancing at higher interest rates and a cut to the distribution Choice receives on its Allied Properties stake. The larger swing factor is the $9.4 billion CAD First Capital deal, under which Choice would acquire about $5.0 billion CAD of retail assets and issue 0.3186 of its units per First Capital unit. The arrangement is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to Competition Act approval, and Choice says it cannot predict the timing or the impact on results.
RioCan (REI.UN)
Why it stands out
RioCan offers the highest yield of the group at 5.42%, or about 4.61% after U.S. treaty withholding. It is also the cheapest on book value. At 0.86 times per RioCan valuation data, against 0.91 for Granite and 1.16 for Choice, the market is pricing RioCan's shopping centres and mixed-use sites below their carrying value.
The operating numbers make the case. Second-quarter Core FFO per unit rose 5.3%, committed retail occupancy reached a record 98.8%, and the blended leasing spread hit 23.1%, with new leases signed 40.8% above expiring rents, Retail Insider reported. New leases averaged $37.73 CAD per square foot, 60% above the $23.58 CAD average in occupied space, and tenant retention was 92.5%. That gap is the mark-to-market runway. RioCan also raised guidance for commercial same property NOI growth to 4.0% to 4.5%.
RioCan has also repatriated $1.26 billion CAD of capital from its RioCan Living residential platform, close to its $1.3 billion CAD target. That is real money. The unit count, meanwhile, is down 1.84% over the past year, which lifts per-unit figures even before any new leasing gains show up in the results.
Risks
Debt is the weak spot. It runs about 11.5 times EBITDA on Stock Analysis data, against 6.8 times at Granite, which leaves RioCan more exposed if refinancing costs stay high. The capital recycling plan also depends on continued asset sales at acceptable prices, and a retail landlord's leasing spreads are only as durable as the tenants signing them.
Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN)
Why it stands out
Chartwell is the growth bet. The seniors housing trust posted FFO per unit of $0.28 CAD in the second quarter, up 16.7% from $0.24 CAD, according to its Q2 investor presentation, which set a 95% occupancy target. It has already cleared it. Same property occupancy reached 95.3% in September, up from 93.0% a year earlier, and Chartwell forecasts 95.8% for November in its October occupancy update. Management estimates that each percentage point of occupancy adds about $12.7 million CAD in revenue across its portfolio.
Demand is demographic. Citing Statistics Canada and Cushman & Wakefield data, Chartwell projects a 4.0% compound annual growth rate in Canada's population aged 80 and over for the next 20 years. The balance sheet is in range of its own targets: net debt at 7.0 times adjusted EBITDA and an FFO payout ratio of 56.7%, alongside a 2% distribution increase in March.
The next lever is already bought. On June 2, Chartwell closed a 30% interest in a 23-property, 2,943-suite portfolio for $382.5 million CAD, with an option on a further 20%. Those buildings averaged 85% occupancy at closing, so lifting them toward the 95.3% that Chartwell's same property portfolio reached in September would add FFO without another acquisition.
Risks
Much of that growth is already in the price. At $21.34 CAD, the units trade near 19.1 times annualized second-quarter FFO and 3.72 times book, with a 2.93% yield, per Chartwell valuation data. After 15% withholding, a U.S. holder nets about 2.49%, the thinnest income of the four and more than two points below RioCan's 4.61%. Units outstanding rose 13.5% in a year of heavy acquisition activity, so each new deal has to earn more than the dilution it creates for existing unitholders.
What to Watch
Paperwork sets the rate. Form NR301 is how a payer decides whether a treaty rate applies, and a holder who has not certified treaty eligibility can be withheld at the full statutory rate of 25%. Return-of-capital portions of a listed Canadian property trust's payout are taxed as assessable distributions at 15%, reported on the same NR4 and partly recoverable through Form T1262 after a loss on sale.
Investors comparing REIT units with a directly owned Canadian rental face a different set of forms. A property manager must withhold 25% of gross rent unless the owner files an NR6 on or before Jan. 1 or before the first rent payment is due, and then files a Section 216 return by June 30, according to CRA guide T4144. This nr4 vs nr6 breakdown walks through how that choice shifts tax from gross rent to net rental income. With units, the broker withholds at source.
Four dates matter. RioCan reports third-quarter results on Nov. 2, Granite on Nov. 4, Chartwell on Nov. 5 and Choice on Nov. 12, per the confirmed dates on the Stock Analysis pages linked above. The items to check are the $195 million CAD of acquisitions built into Granite's guidance, whether Chartwell holds occupancy above 95% (it will stop monthly occupancy reports after December's figures), and any Competition Act ruling on the First Capital deal.
Final Thoughts
Canadian REIT yields look different from outside the country. A 15% treaty haircut barely changes the ranking, but it raises the value of payout growth, because a U.S. holder keeps only 85 cents of every new dollar the trust distributes. Granite and Chartwell are growing faster. Choice and RioCan pay more today.
For a watchlist, compare after-withholding yield with FFO growth for each name, confirm an NR301 is on file with your broker, and read the November reports before adding. Keep it diversified. Holding REITs across property types, and as one part of a broader portfolio, limits the damage if one sector stumbles.
