Their paths brings to life the dedication and innovation driving Canada’s mortgage industry forward.
Each inductee has made a unique impact, from pioneering new approaches in mortgage financing to advocating for brokers nationwide. As you read their stories, you’ll gain insight into the personal journeys and professional milestones that define these leaders—and inspire the next generation.
Meet your 2024 Hall of Fame inductees:
Gilles Bouillon
Gilles Bouillon’s journey: Building a $3B brokerage with determination and innovation
Gilles Bouillon’s journey started with a string of rejections. Eighteen years ago, he founded Planiprêt/MP Mortgages in Montreal with no established mortgage volume—a clean slate that led most lenders to simply say “no.”
Then, in 2006, he crossed paths with Daniel LaFramboise from FirstLine Mortgages, who guided the former financial planner through the basics of the mortgage industry. “He took a piece of paper and showed me how to originate, how it works in the mortgage industry, how ratios are calculated, and stuff like that,” Bouillon says. “It started from there.”
Today, Bouillon has no trouble connecting with lenders. Planiprêt/MP Mortgages now has a team of 320 brokers generating over $3 billion in annual mortgage originations. Through a partnership with TMG The Mortgage Group, Planiprêt/MP Mortgages stays current with the latest technological advancements in the mortgage industry.
Unlike many of his industry colleagues, Bouillon didn’t join a network or pool under another brokerage to jump-start his business. He bootstrapped Planiprêt/MP Mortgages from the very beginning. If you know Bouillon, you’ll understand that this is not at all out of character. “When I have to create stuff, I am the happiest person in the world,” he says. “Creating companies—there’s something in my blood.”
Bouillon also developed a keen interest in the technology behind mortgage origination and customer service. While plenty of CRM platforms already exist, Bouillon envisioned a tool that would go beyond loan origination, incorporating features like after-tax budgeting. “We wanted to create a financial planning approach that did not exist in the various types of systems in the market,” he explains.
Beyond his work at Planiprêt/MP Mortgages, Bouillon dedicated significant time to advocating for his industry peers. When the Autorité des marchés financiers assumed regulatory control over Quebec’s financial sector, new regulations emerged that restricted mortgage brokers from incorporating. Recognizing the impact on brokers’ livelihoods, Bouillon lobbied for a solution that would allow them to continue receiving compensation through their existing corporations.
Bouillon’s advocacy eventually expanded beyond Quebec, leading him to lobby on Parliament Hill on behalf of Mortgage Professionals Canada. Having been deeply involved in the legal intricacies of building his firm, Bouillon developed a strong interest in government regulations impacting the mortgage industry. “For me, it was a natural thing to go and do some lobbying for the industry,” he explains.
Of course, Bouillon’s work happened in and around his family life, including his son’s provincial league hockey games. His secret to managing it all, he says, is hiring good people—and ensuring they stay. His top broker in 2006, Mark Barbieri, remains part of the Planiprêt/MP Mortgages team to this day.
prioritize client acquisition, stay legally compliant, and keep up with the latest technology. However, he notes that finding clients can be the toughest part. For him, building a client base isn’t about investing in flashy ads or TikTok influencers.
“A lot of people are quitting the industry after 18 months because it’s hard for them to find clients,” Bouillon says. “If you’re really focusing on their needs, or if you’re focusing on servicing that client, you’re gonna have some success.”
Scott McKenzie
A lifelong commitment: Scott McKenzie’s 35-year journey at First National
Few people can claim a 35-year career with the same company, but Scott McKenzie, Executive Vice President of Residential Mortgages and Credit at First National, is one of them.
McKenzie started at First National as a junior underwriter in 1989, back when the company was less than a year old. “It’s absolutely the best decision I made,” he reflects. At that time, First National operated a single-family underwriting department in Toronto and Oakville. Today, McKenzie leads a team of about 1,000 people at one of Canada’s largest non-bank lenders.
Now McKenzie can add another feather to his cap—a place in the Mortgage Hall of Fame. “I’ve been in the broker space for 40 years,” he says. “There are a lot of great inductees over the years who have gone into the Hall, and to be included is truly an honour for me.”
Throughout his career at First National, McKenzie has led both residential mortgage sales and the lender’s credit division, making him a rarity in Canada’s mortgage industry. He also oversees First National’s underwriting for the broker channels at TD Bank, Manulife Bank, and BMO BrokerEdge, and directed the Excalibur program, which serves clients who don’t meet the credit standards of traditional mortgage products.
With his long tenure at First National, McKenzie has witnessed many colleagues progress through the ranks. Numerous team members have been with the company for decades, rising from entry-level roles to executive positions—a journey McKenzie counts among the most rewarding parts of his career.
“To watch these people go from their first job out of school to staying with us, being loyal to us, and hanging around and growing, and becoming vice presidents—I love seeing that happen,” McKenzie says. Of course, he’s also a beneficiary of that process.
McKenzie credits First National founders Moray Tawse and Stephen Smith with shaping him into the mortgage professional he is today, describing them as two of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in financial services history. Both Tawse and Smith remain active at First National, continuing to work alongside McKenzie as valued colleagues.
McKenzie advises newcomers to the mortgage industry to find a knowledgeable mentor and “be a sponge and learn everything you can,” he says. This learning, he adds, should go beyond insights from colleagues or bosses. He urges new brokers to stay informed by following financial news closely: “Read about the capital markets, read about mortgages, read about rules—just be aware of what’s going on so you can be relevant when you’re talking to customers,” he says.
This advice is especially relevant today, with fluctuating interest rates and the ongoing housing affordability crisis making it challenging for the average homeowner to keep up with the market. For McKenzie, this is where brokers play a critical role. “It’s up to the mortgage brokers to be the expert, to explain it to them,” he says.
Steven Ranson
From skeptic to pioneer: How Steven Ranson transformed Canada’s reverse mortgage market
When Mortgage Hall of Fame inductee Steven Ranson first encountered reverse mortgages in 1997, he wasn’t immediately sold. It was William Turner, the founder of the Canadian Home Income Plan Corporation, who introduced him to the concept.
“I remember actually thinking—who would want one?” he recalls. At the time, Ranson was 40 and a chartered accountant with experience in mortgage-backed securities, but he hadn’t yet encountered the challenge reverse mortgages addressed: older homeowners with significant equity who couldn’t access it as cash. Once he understood the potential, Ranson saw it as a golden business opportunity.
“It just seemed like this unbelievable product that fit a need that was evident even then, and was only going to get bigger as the population aged,” he said. Over the course of his 27-year career, Ranson would go turn HomeEquity Bank into one of Canada’s leading firms for reverse mortgages.
When Ranson joined HomeEquity Bank in 1997 as Chief Financial Officer, the company was a licensed mortgage broker operating in just two provinces with $100 million in assets. Four years later, he became President and CEO, a role he held for 23 years until his retirement in 2024. Under his leadership, HomeEquity expanded its reverse mortgage business across all 10 Canadian provinces, establishing partnerships with every major lender and growing into one of Canada’s leading firms for reverse mortgages.
That came, in part, due to a robust education drive on reverse mortgages for interested brokers, led by Ranson. “We wouldn’t actually sign a referral agreement with you until you completed our course,” Ranson says. “Because we just felt like the basic education on the product and how it worked just wasn’t out there. And so we had to create it ourselves.”
Under Ranson’s leadership as CEO, HomeEquity became a Schedule I bank to secure more stable funding. The company had been relying on wholesale funding markets, which were vulnerable to economic disruptions. “Becoming a bank was kind of a survival strategy,” Ranson says. “If we didn’t find a way to access a reliable and stable source of funding, which we did by becoming a bank, we basically would have gone under.”
Today, HomeEquity Bank originates over $1 billion annually in mortgages and manages an $8 billion balance sheet. Since Ranson joined, the company has facilitated more than 60,000 loans. Its education and referral program has also attracted over 18,000 brokers who now partner with HomeEquity. However, Ranson has learned over nearly three decades in the mortgage industry that long-term success requires more than just meeting KPIs.
arving out time for family has always been essential for Ranson, even as work discussions naturally found their way into personal life. His wife, a board member of a small bank when HomeEquity became a bank, brought invaluable insights to their conversations. “Her knowledge and expertise had a huge impact on me,” Ranson says. “We probably talked about the bank, the product, and customers every single day for 27 years.”
For Ranson, reputation is the most crucial asset a new mortgage broker can build. The relationships brokers cultivate and the deals they choose to make—or avoid—shape how clients view them, and managing that reputation is no simple task.
“The reputation you have is the most important thing,” Ranson says. “It is your biggest asset.”
Photo credits: @eventimaging
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Last modified: October 31, 2024
