TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/06/09 -- Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust ("CREIT")(TSX: REF.UN) today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

For the three months ended September 30, 2009, CREIT reported Funds from Operations (FFO) of $0.566 per Unit, a decrease of $0.027 cents per Unit, or 5%, from the three months ended September 30, 2008. The decline was due primarily to the dilutive effect of issuing approximately 5.0 million Trust Units in April 2009.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, CREIT reported FFO of $1.742 per Unit. This represents a small increase over the $1.736 FFO per Unit reported for the nine months ended September 30, 2008.

Stephen Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of CREIT, said, "We are satisfied with our operating performance for the third quarter and for the year-to-date period in 2009. We have a strong balance sheet with significant liquidity and we have continued to generate and retain meaningful cash flow from operations. We now have sufficient capacity to acquire approximately $500 million of new income property, and we are actively looking to acquire, at appropriate pricing, high-quality real estate assets to add to our portfolio."

CREIT also announced a modest increase in its future distributions. Effective with the November 2009 distribution (payable in December 2009) the CREIT monthly distribution will be increased to 11.50 cents per Unit ($1.38 per Unit annualized) from 11.33 cents per Unit ($1.36 per Unit annualized).

Mr. Johnson added, "We are delighted that, again this year, we are in a position to comfortably raise our monthly distributions to Unitholders. This is the eighth consecutive year that CREIT has increased its distribution. Our business model continues to function very well, notwithstanding the tough economic environment."

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2008, FFO and Net Income were as follows:

                                        THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30
                                     -------------------------------------
                                                                 CHANGE
                                                          ----------------
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)     2009      2008        ($)   (%)
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FFO                                    $  37.5   $  36.1     $ 1.4     4%

FFO per Unit                           $ 0.566   $ 0.593  ($ 0.027)   (5%)

FFO per Unit annualized                $  2.26   $  2.37   ($ 0.11)   (5%)
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                                            NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30
                                      --------------------------------------
                                                                    CHANGE
                                                               -------------
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)      2009      2008           ($)  (%)
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FFO                                    $  112.2  $  105.7      $   6.5    6%

FFO per Unit                           $  1.742  $  1.736      $ 0.006    -%

FFO per Unit annualized                $   2.32  $   2.31      $  0.01    -%
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                                           THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30
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                                                                    CHANGE
                                                               -------------
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)      2009      2008           ($)  (%)
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Income from
 Continuing operations                   $ 28.3    $ 18.6        $ 9.7   52%
 Discontinued operations                    2.1       0.3          1.8  N/A
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Net income                               $ 30.4    $ 18.9      $  11.5   61%
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Income from
 Continuing operations per Unit          $ 0.43    $ 0.31      $  0.12   39%
 Discontinued operations per Unit          0.03         -         0.03  N/A
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Net income per Unit                      $ 0.46    $ 0.31      $  0.15   48%
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                                            NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30
                                      --------------------------------------
                                                                    CHANGE
                                                               -------------
($ millions, except per Unit amounts)      2009      2008           ($)  (%)
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Income from
 Continuing operations                   $ 66.4   $  55.0      $  11.4   21%
 Discontinued operations                   13.6       0.7         12.9  N/A
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Net income                               $ 80.0   $  55.7      $  24.3   44%
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Income from
 Continuing operations per Unit          $ 1.03   $  0.90      $  0.13   14%
 Discontinued operations per Unit          0.21      0.01         0.20  N/A
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Net income per Unit                      $ 1.24   $  0.91      $  0.33   36%
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FFO is a generally accepted supplemental measure of operating performance for real estate entities; however, it is not a measure defined by Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Readers are directed to the Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) for a description of the measure and its reconciliation to Net Income.

The Consolidated Financial Statements of the Trust for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2009 and the MD&A are posted on CREIT's website at www.creit.ca. Readers are directed to these documents for financial details and a fulsome discussion on CREIT's results.

CREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to Unitholders. The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing cash distribution. CREIT owns a diversified portfolio of retail, office and industrial properties.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate, which are based on our expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statement, to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by law.