espite restrictions and bans on self-storage development within some cities across the country, including Vancouver and Squamish, the number of self-storage facilities in Canada continues to rise—albeit at a slower pace than developers and investors may like—in an attempt to meet rapidly increasing demand brought about by the diverse needs of both commercial and residential customers.
For starters, the densification of housing means that space-strapped apartment and condominium dwellers are reliant on self-storage as an extension of their home, renting storge units to store seasonal clothing, holiday decorations, and recreational items that would otherwise clutter their living areas due to a shortage of closets, wardrobes, shelving, and cabinets within their residences.
As for commercial customers, that segment of the tenant mix keeps growing because of skyrocketing rental fees for warehouse space. To reduce expenses and keep their operations viable, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and independent contractors who need a place to store their inventory, tools, equipment, and records have embraced self-storage. And astute self-storage operators have been catering to these customers by incorporating office-related amenities into their facilities, including shared workspace with desks and WiFi, printers and copiers, conference rooms, kitchenettes with coffee bars, mailboxes, shredding services, packing and shipping supplies, flex space, in-unit shelving, and more. This surge in demand, as well as the recession-resistant nature of self-storage, has further enticed institutional investors to invest in the asset class, thus spurring new development and industry consolidation. Although there are still many independent self-storage operators in Canada who own and operate a single facility, the shifting market led MSM to assemble an inaugural top operators list for Canada.
Taking the No. 1 spot is U-Haul International. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., U-Haul has nearly 90 million net rentable square feet (NRSF) of storage space in its portfolio; it has a total of 94 locations throughout all 10 Canadian provinces that comprise more than 3.5 million NRSF. In second place is Columbia, Mo.-based StorageMart. With a presence in five provinces, StorageMart’s Canadian portfolio has 69 facilities and approximately 5.4 million NRSF, but its entire portfolio amounts to nearly 27 million NRSF. SmartStop Self Storage ranks third with more than 17 million NRSF; it has 47 facilities within four provinces.
The No. 4 top operator is StorageVault Canada Inc. If international facilities are not factored into these totals, StorageVault is the largest operator in the country. Its 251 facilities comprise 14.5 million NRSF and operate under three brand names: Access Storage, Sentinel Storage, and Depotium Mini Entrepots. StorageVault has 44 locations in Alberta, 20 in British Columbia, 12 in Manitoba, seven in Nova Scotia, 109 in Ontario, 22 in Quebec, and 12 in Saskatchewan. The company also has 10 projects in development and plans to add another 100,000 to 150,000 square feet to its portfolio.
Mini Mall Storage comes in fifth with approximately 8.4 million NRSF. While it’s based in Calgary, Alta., only about one-third of its facilities are located in Canada. Ranking sixth is Public Storage Canada; it has a total of 5.2 million NRSF of storage space throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Even though its facilities operate under the Public Storage brand, it’s a separate company from the U.S. REIT of the same name. Rounding out the top 10 are Dymon Storage Corporation with 3 million NRSF, Apple Self Storage with approximately 2.5 million NRSF, Bluebird Self Storage with 1.8 million NRSF, and Vaultra Storage with a little over 1 million NRSF—all of which are making waves throughout the industry with their innovative facilities and upscale offerings.
As you peruse the data on the following pages, which was compiled from information submitted in MSM’s Top Operators survey, please note that the companies are ranked by total net rentable square feet. In addition, self-storage facilities that are owned and managed by the same company are only tallied in the “Owned” section of the tables.
Congratulations to these 20 companies for making Self-Storage Canada’s first top operators list!
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2727 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004Phone: (602) 263-6811
Email: doconnor@uhaul.com
Website: www.UHaul.com
President/CEO: Edward Joseph (Joe) Shoen
Contact: Dennis O’Connor
Founded: 1945
Number of Facilities: 2,055
Total net rentable square footage: 89,821,394
Number of Facilities in Development: 175
Expansion plans: The company plans to expand through new construction, acquisition of existing self-storage locations, and expansion and re-development of existing properties. -
215 N. Stadium Boulevard, Suite 207
Columbia, MO 65203Phone: (573) 268-0997
Email: mike.burnam@storage-mart.com
Website: www.storage-mart.com
President/CEO: Mike Burnam
Contact: Mike Burnam
Founded: 1999
Number of Facilities: 292
Total net rentable square footage: 26,862,376
Number of Facilities in Development: 2 -
1120 Dupont Street
Toronto, ON M6H 2A2Phone: (949) 429-6600
Email: info@smartstop.com
Website: www.smartstopselfstorage.ca
President/CEO: H. Michael Schwartz
Contact: Rhonda Williams
Founded: 2015
Number of Facilities: 213
Total net rentable square footage: 17,245,922
Number of Facilities in Development: 12
Expansion plans: The company plans to grow through targeted growth and stabilized assets in major markets across Canada where economies of scale are achievable. In addition, it’s targeting further growth in the United States. -
100 Canadian Road
Toronto, ON M1R 4Z5Phone: (877) 622-0205
Email: ir@storagevaultcanada.com
Website: www.storagevaultcanada.com
CEO: Steven Scott
Contact: Steven Scott
Founded: 2007
Number of Facilities: 251
Total net rentable square footage: 14,500,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 10
Expansion plans: The company plans to add 100,000 to 150,000 square feet to its portfolio. -
1201 Glenmore Trail SW
Calgary, AB T2V 4Y8Phone: (403) 973-1123
Email: jpolkinghorne@minimallstorage.com
Website: www.minimallstorage.com
President/CEO: Adam Villard
Contact: Joshua Polkinghorne
Founded: 1976
Number of Facilities: 217
Total net rentable square footage: 8,394,456
Expansion plans: Mini Mall Storage has a highly experienced team of self-storage experts executing on its strategy to acquire, invest, and grow across North America. With a unique hub-and-spoke operating model that enables efficient expansion in new regions, the company is elevating the service standard within a highly fragmented industry. -
1740 Argentia Road
Mississauga, ON L5N 3J3Phone: (905) 677-0063
Email: Rdeluca@publicstorage.ca
Website: www.Publicstorage.ca
President/CEO: Troy McLellan
Contact: Robert DeLuca
Founded: 1979
Number of Facilities: 68
Total net rentable square footage: 5,200,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 2
Expansion plans: The company plans to add 150,000 square feet to its portfolio. -
1460 The Queensway
Toronto, ON M8Z 1S7Phone: (844) 693-9666
Email: screighton@dymon.ca
Website: www.dymon.ca
President/CEO: Glen Luckman
Contact: Stephen Creighton, executive vice president
Founded: 2006
Number of Facilities: 18
Total net rentable square footage: 3,000,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 18
Expansion plans: Dymon Storage plans to add 50 facilities to its portfolio within five to seven years. -
16 Industrial Parkway South
Aurora, ON L4G 0R4Phone: (905) 751-0999
Email: concierge@applesuites.ca
Website: www.applestorage.com
President/CEO: David Allan
Contact: David Allan
Founded: 1999
Number of Facilities: 54
Total net rentable square footage: 2,494,612
Number of Facilities in Development: 9
Expansion plans: The company is actively developing new Class-A facilities and seeking acquisition opportunities. -
31 Powerhouse Street, Suite 204
Toronto, ON M6H 0C7Phone: (844) 855-6378
Email: info@bluebirdstorage.ca
Website: www.bluebirdstorage.ca
CEO: Jason Koonin
Contact: Jason Koonin
Founded: 2016
Number of Facilities: 29
Total net rentable square footage: 1,800,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 25
Expansion plans: The company plans to add 1.5 million NRSF throughout Canada.
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8623 McCowan Road
Markham, ON L3P 4H1Phone: (844) 781-2187
Email: namin@vaultra.ca
Website: www.vaultrastorage.ca
Founding Partners: Prakash Gunasingham and Shawn Shanmuganathan
Contact: Nisha Amin
Founded: 2012
Number of Facilities: 15
Total net rentable square footage: 1,023,000
Expansion plans: Vaultra Storage has seven additional developments in the pipeline totaling more than 1 million square feet. -
459 Eastern Avenue
Toronto, ON M4M 1C2Phone: (416) 817-6298
Email: leslie.kellen@xyzstorage.com
Website: www.xyzstorage.com
President/CEO: Partnership
Contact: Leslie Kellen
Founded: 1997
Number of Facilities: 7
Total net rentable square footage: 700,000 -
15028 32 Avenue
Surrey, BC V4P 1A3Phone: (604) 541-8538
Email: Robert@selfstorage.ca
Website: www.selfstorage.ca
President/CEO: Robert Madsen
Contact: Robert Madsen
Founded: 1978
Number of Facilities: 8
Total net rentable square footage: 566,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 2
Expansion plans: The company plans to add two facilities to its portfolio. -
1088 550 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6C 2B5Phone: (604) 409-8266
Email: marcus@pockitselfstorage.com
Website: www.pockitselfstorage.com
President/CEO: Marcus Lowe
Contact: Marcus Lowe
Founded: 2017
Number of Facilities: 8
Total net rentable square footage: 405,000
Number of Facilities in Development: 3
Expansion plans: The company plans to expand its portfolio by 120,000 net rentable square feet and 1,500 units. -
171 Av. Marien
Montreal, QC H1B 5V1Phone: (514) 325-9000
Email: ted@aarion.ca
Website: www.groupemarien.ca
President/CEO: Ted Petrecca
Contact: Ted Petrecca
Founded: 2009
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 80,000 -
3425 Airport Road
Penticton, BC V2A 8X1Phone: (844) 900-0737
Email: smartstoragecanada@icloud.com
Website: www.smartstoragecanada.com
President/CEO: Max Picton
Contact: Max Picton
Founded: 2021
Number of Facilities: 4
Total net rentable square footage: 75,000 -
21 Blumberg Trail
Winnipeg, MB R4H 0B1Phone: (204) 832-8181
Email: info@totalstoragemanitoba.ca
Website: www.totalstoragewinnipeg.ca
President/CEO: Shawn Hebert
Contact: Claire Coppens
Founded: 2012
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 60,015
Expansion plans: The company is building a warehouse for its sister company Total Moving. -
1950 Theatre Road
Cranbrook, BC V1C 7B8Phone: (250) 489-9822
Email: blackmetalstorage@gmail.com
Website: www.blackmetalstorage.com
President/CEO: Chuck and Diane Pawlechko
Contact: Diane Pawlechko
Founded: 2018
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 49,500 -
2180 S. Wellington Road
Nanaimo, BC V9X 1V8Phone: (250) 755-4098
Email: nanaimoministorage@shaw.ca
Website: www.nanaimoministorage.com
President/CEO: Mark and Tammy Bodle
Contact: Tammy Bodle
Founded: 1990
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 45,000 -
4500 Chesswood Drive
Toronto, ON M3J 2B9Phone: (416) 739-0000
Email: haroldweber028@gmail.com
Website: www.centronstorage.com
President/CEO: Harold Weber
Contact: Harold Weber
Founded: 1993
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 41,024 -
76 Walsh Road
Lindsay, ON K9V 4R3Phone: (705) 934-4671
Email: info@greatnorthstorage.ca
Website: www.greatnorthstorage.ca
President/CEO: Lindsay Griffin Mesure
Contact: Lindsay Griffin Mesure
Founded: 2022
Number of Facilities: 1
Total net rentable square footage: 26,600
Number of Facilities in Development: 1
Expansion plans: The company plans to add a fifth climate-controlled building (5,650 square feet) at its current site and possibly acquire an existing facility in eastern Ontario.
