Find out what it took to become the industry's best…
The Canadian Mortgage Awards were back for their 18th year last week, with a glitzy ceremony recognizing the best and brightest of the mortgage industry and celebrating the outstanding achievements of its top performers over the past 12 months.
Toronto’s Congress Centre welcomed hundreds of mortgage professionals on May 2 for the prestigious event – and for winners, clinching an award marked the strongest possible validation of their hard work and effort in a market that remains challenging for many borrowers.
Equitable Bank’s Imran Ebrahim (pictured below), winner of the Lender Underwriter of the Year – Prime award, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that his victory reflected a personal focus on helping Canadians get into homes throughout the year, as well as a pivot by his company that proved a hugely successful one.
“It’s all about helping people – making sure they get to have a roof over their heads and they’re happy with what their situation is and owning homes,” he said. “At EQ Bank, we started something: the end-to-end underwriter position.
“We went from having separate positions with the underwriters and the fulfilment officers, and I was actually part of the pilot program that started combining those two roles. So just doing that really made me stand out.”
The stars of the mortgage industry were out in full force last night for the Canadian Mortgage Awards, with an audience of hundreds in attendance at the Toronto Congress Centre for the glitzy ceremony.https://t.co/I4AY0Bp1vB#MortgageAwardsCA
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) May 3, 2024
Chelsea Bedard (pictured below), of Mission 35 Mortgages, said doubling down on hard work had been essential to her win in the Centum Financial Award for Young Achiever of the Year category, and encouraged all up-and-coming mortgage professionals to develop resilience and a can-do attitude.
“I think just never give up, try to outwork everybody else. Always give it your all,” she said. “Work is my sport, so I love it. Don’t be afraid of hard work, and always push through. When it’s hard, always push through it.”
MCAP’s Anna Gomes (pictured below), the company’s vice president of underwriting, collecting the Mortgage Industry Employer of Choice award on behalf of the company. She paid tribute to the strength of the lender’s staff and the care it shows toward a happy and fulfilling workplace culture.
“We owe it to our staff: everybody from the executive team to our underwriter document specialists, support teams – we couldn’t do this without them,” she said. “It’s not just a slogan: [MCAP] truly cares for their people and their actions demonstrate that they care for the people that work in the organization.”
Carey Benvenuti (pictured below), of Lending Niagara – Mortgage Architects, won the RFA Award for Excellence in Philanthropy & Community Service, an “overwhelming” feeling for a broker who’s placed philanthropy front and centre throughout her career.
“Giving back to my community is a daily thing that I do along with brokering,” she said. “The gift of giving is the gift that you give yourself.”
Awards crown top provincial, national brokers
Alberta’s Broker of the Year, Max Singh (pictured below), dedicated his victory to his mother and said it marked a high point of a 20-year career in the mortgage space. “This is purpose, and this is what we do,” he said. “It’s nice to have the recognition. There are thousands of families that we help get inside homes – and I won’t forget this.”
Dalia Barsoum (pictured below), meanwhile, won both MortgageClosingCentres.ca LLP Award for Broker of the Year (Regional – Ontario) and the Equitable Bank Award for Canadian Broker of the Year, the second year in succession she’s come away with both prizes.
For Barsoum, the awards were doubly significant, arriving during a market that’s presented plenty of hurdles for borrowers, lenders and brokers alike.
“Especially [as] 2023 was a very challenging year in the industry, this award has a very special meaning right now,” she said. “Creative solutions for clients, really pushing through tough files, helping my team ride the wave and sticking together as a team were some things that I believe we did really well this year.”
Shawna MacDonald (pictured below) of The Mortgage Associates won Broker of the Year for the Prairies, with MERIX Financial’s Rachelle Gregory accepting the award on her behalf. Gregory described MacDonald as the “heart and soul” of the business she had built throughout the years.
“I’d say probably over her career, she’s one of the most authentic mortgage brokers and that’s why customers and her homeowners trust her so much,” Gregory commented. “She gets to know their families, she gets to know their situations. I think it’s less about a business and more about a family experience for her and her clients.”
Empire Mortgage Group’s Kevin Huynh (pictured below), meanwhile, said the company’s win in the Brokerage of the Year – Fewer than 25 Employees category was an important milestone in its history. “Fifteen years of hard work, blood, sweat and tears built this team up,” he said. “We’re very, very grateful.”
Sarah Schneider, vice president of broker relations with Mortgage Architects, accepted the CWB Optimum Mortgage Award for Brokerage of the Year (25 Employees or More) for DLC Clear Trust Mortgages Inc. She paid tribute to the strength and togetherness of the mortgage industry, even through challenging times.
“It’s such a great group of people. It’s such an amazing community. We have our own events, awards, trips, magazines, everything. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it.”
A ‘phenomenal’ victory
Mortgage Alliance was named National Brokerage of the Year, a win that the company’s president Elaine Taylor (pictured below) dedicated to the team and those who worked hard to make the victory possible.
“It’s phenomenal, and it’s because of the team: our agents, our franchises, our staff. It doesn’t get any better than that,” she said. “We care about the people – our brokers, their customers, and our lenders. So it’s paying off for us.”
Rounding off the night was the much-awaited National Broker Network of the Year, with Centum Financial Group coming out as winner in that category. For the company’s president Chris Turcotte (pictured below), that win was a testament to its innovation throughout a changing market.
“When everyone was battening down the hatches, that’s when we doubled down. We brought our costs down during the hardest times when most companies were trying to figure out how to reinforce their margins,” he said. “I just think we did it right this year.”
Turcotte also paid tribute to the role played by mortgage brokers in carving out opportunities for their clients and helping make homeownership a reality through both calm and stormy times.
“I think the mortgage industry is unique because you get to deal with a human and a professional,” he told CMP. “With the banks, you’re paying to work with a salaried professional. But with a mortgage broker, that person’s in your community.
“You’re seeing that person at the rink. You’re bumping into them having a coffee, and they can still be your professional and be that human touch. I just think it’s such a unique and gratifying industry.”
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