Granite was originally a part of Magna International and was spun-off as a public company known as MI Developments in 2003.

[1] MI Developments was indirectly controlled by Frank Stronach, founder of Magna, through a multiple voting share structure.

[3] In 2012, MI Developments changed its name to Granite Real Estate, reconstituted its board and senior management, moved its headquarters from Aurora to Toronto, Ontario and announced its conversion from a corporate structure to a stapled unit real estate investment trust effective January 2013.

[4] In 2017, certain dissident shareholders launched a proxy battle and proposed the addition of three new directors on the company's board.

The dissidents were successful in their campaign and Granite’s board was reconstituted following the annual general meeting in June 2017.