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Timeline of Tarion's history

Past Awards

About the award

Established in 2017 and retired in 2021, Tarion's Ernest Assaly Award recognized the highest level of excellence in Ontario home building while honouring the legacy of a hi​ghly respected leader in the residential building industry.

The Ernest Assaly award was named after Tarion's first Chair of the Board of Directors, who led the Board from 1976 to 1988. An esteemed builder in his o​wn right, Mr. Assaly also served as President of three different organizations: the Ottawa-Carleton Home Builders' Association, the Ontario Home Builders' Association, ​​and the Canadian Home Builders' Association. In 1986, Mr. Assaly was inducted into the Home Builders' Association Hall of Fame.

Each year, the Ernest Assaly Award celebrated one Ontario residential builder​​ who demonstrated a continued commitment to Mr. Assaly's values of building quality and innovation, customer service, and community involvement.

While Tarion's Homeowners' Choice Awards focus primarily on customer service, and are determined entirely by new home owners, the Ernest Assaly Award was similar to a lifetime achievement award. Only select builders were invited to participate, and the recipient was determined by our Board of Directors, based on a broad range of criteria (see below).
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About the award

​​​Formerly known as the Tarion Awards of Excellence, the Homeowners' Choice Awards are the only awards that give Ontario's new home buyers the power to have their new home builder recognized for customer service excellence.

Finalists and recipients for the Homeowners' Choice Awards were determined by a comprehensive survey sent to Ontario homeowners who took possession of a new home.  Survey questions were designed to assess homeowner satisfaction with after-sales customer service.

To be considered, builders must have had at least five possessions during the survey timeframe.  In addition, a minimum number of completed surveys must be received to ensure that homeowner responses could be fairly evaluated.

Builders were not be eligible for a Homeowners’ Choice Award if they: were subject to a Notice of Proposal to suspend or revoke their registration; or were the subject of an active charge for illegal building; or had been convicted of illegal building in the last five years.

Builders competed in four categories:

High-Rise Builder of the Year:  More than 100 high-rise possessions

Large Volume Builder of the Year:  More than 100 possessions

Medium Volume Builder of the Year:  21-100 possessions

Small Volume Builder of the Year:  5-20 possessions