Make sure to get your nominations in for this year’s Canadian Mortgage Awards ahead of the August 24 deadline
Recent years have seen Canadian mortgage brokerages navigate a choppy economic climate and plenty of industry challenges, with rising interest rates and affordability struggles pushing homebuyers to the sidelines and slowing the market down.
Against that backdrop, the leading brokerages have had to show innovation, resolve and resilience – and those were key attributes that helped Bespoke Mortgage Group come away with the Brokerage of the Year (fewer than 25 employees) award at last year’s Canadian Mortgage Awards.
Returning for their 20th year in 2026 at Rebel Toronto on November 25, those awards recognize the mortgage industry’s best and brightest across a variety of different categories.
Simon Lyn (pictured top, fourth from left), partner at Bespoke Mortgage Group, told Canadian Mortgage Professional the win marked a strong affirmation of the company’s efforts for its customers and partners during an eventful year for the market.
“When we heard our names, it was quite the surprise and great recognition for our team,” he said. “It kind of really validated the work that we put in building Bespoke Mortgage Group and the level of service that we provide to clients and referral partners.”
Top brokers still finding success in a down market
For brokers accustomed to a busier pipeline during the pandemic years, the cooler market seen since 2023 has proven quite an adjustment – but Lyn said it’s one that his team has been successfully handling through a proactive and energetic approach.
“Gone are the times of just sitting there and having our phones ring,” he said. “During slower times… we advise our agents and underwriters to be picking up the phone and making other people’s phones ring.”
Showing up with the same approach to work each day, regardless of how busy or quiet the market is, was another key component behind Bespoke’s recent success.
“Consistency and doing the smaller things well” are important to the company, Lyn said. “Communicate quickly and be available for your clients, guiding them and communicating through the different processes. It’s not just about rates and products – more about relationships and communication.”
Relationships with lenders as well as clients have also been top of mind, particularly in an increasingly complex market with few straightforward mortgage applications and a growing number of hurdles for customers on both the purchase and renewal-refinance sides.
A methodical approach tends to work best, according to Lyn. “We mandate that we have all of our documents, or a good portion of the documents, upfront and submit the file with all of our notes, going through everything thoroughly with a fine comb to make sure there’s not a lot of back and forth and missed conditions,” he said.
“So it kind of takes a lot of the questions on both sides – the lenders as well as clients – and creates a very smooth process.”
Nominations close on August 24 for this year’s event
Nominations for the 2026 Canadian Mortgage Awards close on Monday (August 24). Excellence Awardees – the finalists for each category – will be officially announced next month on the event website and CMP before final winners are revealed at November’s ceremony.
Mortgage professionals who submitted nominations for this year’s awards are facing a similar environment to the market of last year. Some encouraging news on the trade front arrived this week after a reported deal was reached with the US – but the housing market remains subdued as Canadians wait to see whether the economy will stabilize before they make their move.
Lyn isn’t expecting dramatic change in the months ahead, seeing rates and transaction volumes holding steady for the time being. But agents and brokers can still carve out success, he emphasized, by maintaining that proactive approach.
“A lot of the agents in our brokerage that are doing consistent volume and doing well, whatever they’re doing to generate leads or deals, they do it consistently throughout the day as opposed to waiting for deals to come through the phone,” he said.
Make sure to get your nominations in for the 2026 CMAs before Monday’s deadline. Nominating is easy – and free – and can be done here.
