More Than a Dozen Canadian Industry Leaders Earn Top Spot on Prestigious Real Estate List

More than a dozen leaders in Canada's residential real estate industry made the cut for this year's prestigious Swanepoel Power (SP) 200, proudly representing Canadian real estate on an international stage.

The SP 200 notably had some overlap with STOREYS' own 2022 list of the most influential players in the real estate industry, proving that these leaders are consistently ones to watch.

Complied by a team of executives from US-based T3 Sixty, the SP 200 judges evaluate eight different criteria when crafting their annual ranking, including company size, decision-making power, tenure, initiatives, and overall impact on the industry at a national level.

After considering these factors, 14 leaders making their mark in Canada were found to be among the best. And they span the entire list, ranking as high as the top 10 and as low as 189.

Without further ado, here are the Canadian standouts included in this year's SP 200:

Phil Soper

• Role: CEO of Royal LePage and Bridgemarq Real Estate Services
• Rank: 10
• What the SP 200 said:"Known as a smart, down-to-earth leader, Soper has, for most of the past decade, been recognized as the highest placed Canadian leader on the SP 200 ranking of the most powerful people in residential real estate. His consistent, competence and unrelenting excellence however now also earns him the honor of the first top-10 placement of a leader of a Canadian company."

Gavin Swartzman

• Role: CEO of Peerage Realty Partners
• Rank: 38
• What the SP 200 said:"Since 2014, Swartzman has run Peerage Realty Partners, which owns a growing portfolio of brokerages in the U.S. and Canada. After making acquisitions of two large U.S. Sotheby’s International Realty affiliates, the brokerage is on pace to do over $30 billion in 2022 sales, which will likely make it a top 10 brokerage on the Mega 1000."

Errol Samuelson

• Role: Chief Industry Development Officer of Zillow Group
• Rank: 43
• What the SP 200 said:"Samuelson’s role at Zillow Group includes responsibility for the company’s industry relations strategy, its new construction business, business-to-business product development, new construction and its Canadian operations. Samuelson brings more than 25 years of experience to his role, including significant experience in the real estate portal side of the industry."

Martin Charlwood

• Role: President and CEO of Century 21 Canada
• Rank: 56
• What the SP 200 said:"Charlwood leads Century 21 Canada, the firm his father U. Gary Charlwood founded in 1976. The company recently completed a multiyear full technology platform overhaul. In addition to the brokerage, Charlwood runs Charlwood Pacific Group, which provides mortgage, property management and travel services."

Christopher Alexander

• Role: President of RE/MAX Canada
• Rank: 67
• What the SP 200 said:"When RE/MAX repurchased the North American master franchise regions then owned by RE/MAX Integra in November 2021, Alexander became president of the newly formed RE/MAX Canada. Alexander, the grandson of Integra co-founder Frank J. Polzler, oversees approximately 19,000 RE/MAX agents in Canada. In his role, he oversees all of RE/MAX’s franchises in Canada except for those in Quebec, which remains independently owned."

John DiMichele

• Role: CEO of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
• Rank: 74
• What the SP 200 said:"DiMichele leads the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the world’s largest local Realtor board with over 67,000 members. In addition to leading the over-100-year-old association, DiMichele also has served on the board of directors for CMLS, as chair of the Ontario Real Estate Association’s Association Executive Committee and is a member of the MLS Roundtable."

Carolyn Cheng

• Role: COO of Royal LePage
• Rank: 86
• What the SP 200 said:"As chief operating officer, Cheng oversees the development of new services for Canada’s 100-plus-year-old company Royal LePage, a division of Bridgemarq Real Estate Services and one of Canada’s two largest real estate enterprises with nearly 19,500 agents. She also leads a consolidated broker and agent services team and remains a key player in the development and execution of services designed to assist brokers and agents."

Tamir Poleg

• Role: Co-Founder and CEO of The Real Brokerage
• Rank: 91
• What the SP 200 said:"As co-founder and CEO of The Real Brokerage (Nasdaq: REAX), Poleg leads a tech-focused startup brokerage, which launched in 2014 and now has over 7,000 agents in 44 U.S. states, DC, and Canada and does over $4 billion in sales. The company offers high commission splits, a commission cap and stock plan to agents. The company began trading on the Nasdaq in 2021, and as of December 2022 had a market cap of $303 million Canadian."

Michael Bourque

• Role: CEO of The Canadian Real Estate Association
• Rank: 101
• What the SP 200 said:"As CEO of Canada’s largest real estate trade association in CREA, Bourque represents over 155,000 real estate brokers and agents in over 75 real estate boards. With decades of experience in public policy, Bourque was previously CEO of the Railway Association of Canada."

Merrily Hackett

• Role: Managing Partner at Sutton WestCoast Realty
• Rank: 109
• What the SP 200 said:"Hackett heads up West Coast Realty, one of Canada’s largest brokerages and the largest franchisee of Canada-based Sutton Group. The brokerage has over 1,900 agents who do over 22,000 annual transactions approximately $35 billion in annual sales."

Pierre Titley

• Role: Co-Founder and President of RE/MAX Quebec
• Rank: 118
• What the SP 200 said:"Titley founded and manages RE/MAX Quebec, the last independently owned RE/MAX franchise region in Canada. Over the past four decades he has grown the region to 147 offices with more than 4,900 agents."

Tim Hudak

• Role: CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association
• Rank: 127
• What the SP 200 said:"Hudak runs Canada’s largest provincial real estate association in OREA, which represents over 92,000 members across 38 real estate boards. Previously, he served for 21 years in the Ontario legislature, including as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. In 2022, OREA continued to call for more action related to increasing housing inventory and improving affordability."

Elton Ash

• Role: Regional EVP of RE/MAX Canada
• Rank: 161
• What the SP 200 said:"Ash manages the overall administration and day-to-day operations of the western region for RE/MAX Canada. The franchise region’s nearly 7,000 agents do approximately $7.5 billion in annual sales. Ash joined RE/MAX in 1984, became a broker and franchisee owner in 1990 and progressed through the corporate ranks before assuming his current position in 2005."

John Lusink

• Role: President of Right at Home Realty
• Rank: 189
• What the SP 200 said:"Lusink leads Canada-based agent flat-fee brokerage, Right at Home Realty, which first opened its doors in 2004. With over 6,000 agents, and over 27,000 transactions in 2021, the company is the largest brokerage in the Greater Toronto area and is reportedly the largest nonfranchise brokerage in Canada."