In order to qualify for the awards, builders must have a minimum of ten possessions and an excellent after sales service record with the Warranty Program over the past five years. Candidates in the Small Volume Builder (10-74 possessions) and Large Volume Builder (75 or more possessions) categories compete in four regions:  Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Northern Ontario and Southwestern Ontario.  Participants in the High-Rise category compete with other condominium builders across Ontario.

Builders who competed for this year’s awards were subject to in-depth interviews and site inspections.  Local municipal building officials were also interviewed, and random surveys were conducted with homeowners.  All interviews and surveys were conducted by Decima Research of Toronto.

The following eight builders receive Regional Builder of the Year honours and will now go on to compete for the Ontario Builder of the Year award in the Small Volume and Large Volume Builder Categories:

Small Volume Builder Category
Silvergate Homes Ltd., St. Catharines (Central Ontario)
Swank Construction Ltd., Iroquois (Eastern Ontario)
Harrigan Builders Ltd., Hanmer (Northern Ontario)
Robert C. Loebsack Custom Homes, Kitchener (Southwestern Ontario)

Large Volume Builder Category
GreGor Homes Ltd., Barrie (Central Ontario)
Land Ark Homes, Stittsville (Eastern Ontario)
Sal-Dan Developments Limited, Sault Ste. Marie (Northern Ontario)
Hayhoe Homes, St. Thomas (Southwestern Ontario)

In the High-Rise Category, the following builders will compete for Ontario Builder of the Year honours:

Tridel, Downsview
Baghai Development Limited, Toronto
The Daniels Corporation, Toronto

The Ontario Builder of the Year awards will be presented at the Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) Awards Luncheon on September 25, 2003 at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario.

Runners-up for the above noted awards are recognized with the Warranty Program’s Outstanding Service Recognition Award. They are:

Small Volume Builder Category
Raymac Corporation, Thornton (Central Ontario)
Tony Matias Holdings Ltd., Inverary (Eastern Ontario)
686927 Ontario Ltd., Thunder Bay (Northern Ontario)
George Milla Construction Ltd., Guelph (Southwestern Ontario)

Large Volume Builder Category
Mountainview Homes, Thorold (Central Ontario)
Geertsma Homes Ltd., Belleville (Eastern Ontario)
Dalron Construction Limited, Sudbury (Northern Ontario)
Z Group, London (Southwestern Ontario)

High Rise Builder Category
Empire Communities, Richmond Hill
Rice Developments, Brampton
CaraCo Development Corporation, Glenburnie

The Ernest Assaly Awards were established in 1990 to promote high standards in the new home building industry by recognizing builders who have an excellent after sales service record.  The Awards Program is named after the late Ernest W. Assaly, the Warranty Program’s first Chair and a distinguished Ottawa area builder. 

Established in 1976, the Ontario New Home Warranty Program is a private corporation responsible for administering the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, which outlines the warranty protection that new home and condominium builders must provide, by law, to their customers.  The company’s primary purpose is to ensure that builders abide by this legislation, and to protect consumers when builders fail to fulfill their warranty obligations. Since its inception, over one million homes have been enrolled in the Ontario New Home Warranty Program.