Realtors in Kingston, Ont. will cast their vote—again—in June to decide whether they will form a single entity with their peers across Eastern Ontario, but some members are citing concerns with the process.
A special meeting of the Kingston and Area Real Estate Association (KAREA) will be held on Jun.12, after members voted against an amalgamation with neighbouring boards in March.
Of the nearly 300 votes, 163 (55 per cent) were in favour of the amalgamation, failing to reach the 66 per cent majority required to pass.
Joel Thompson, a Realtor with eXp Realty in Kingston, said members need more information to make an informed decision, and the process feels rushed.
“We’re expected to put a firm offer on amalgamation with very questionable language in the draft documents,” he said.
“But we would never give that advice to our own clients, so why are we expected to just trust the board?”
The board, in accordance with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, is compelled to hold a second vote as a member-led petition met the minimum 10 per cent threshold to request a special meeting.
Thompson said key information has not been shared with members, such as full financial disclosure from each board, a staffing plan including executive structure, roles, salaries and locations of services, a dues and fees analysis, a finalized governance and voting structure, and a draft amalgamation agreement in the final form.
Kingston members have been told that financial reports for the other boards are under a non-disclosure agreement.
“It’s being set up in a way that’s creating all this conflict,” said Thompson.
“To me, this is a five-year process. This isn’t a one-year thing.”
Real Estate Magazine heard from several Kingston Realtors who say they feel they have not been given a clear explanation of how an amalgamation would benefit them. Further, one member cited concerns that they have been presented with “one-sided” information, with inadequate attention given to potential downsides.
Members requested anonymity to protect their professional relationships and reputations.
Ambrose defends the process
In a statement to Real Estate Magazine, KAREA president Mary Ambrose cites a list of six ways that membership have been engaged, such as 24 email updates, discussion at the annual meeting, several townhalls, an educational website, documents on the members portal and participation in brokerage office meetings.
“KAREA and its board of directors are committed to a transparent and member-driven process,” said Ambrose. “We firmly believe that Members have been given, and continue to have, ample time, tools, and opportunities to inform themselves and make thoughtful decisions about the proposed amalgamation.”
What are the upsides?
Thompson said he sees little benefit from merging with other boards, since they now have access to shared data on MLS provider Realm.
Sylvie DesHaies, chair of the integration task force, said the collaboration has the potential to give members a stronger voice in government lobbying, leadership opportunities and training.
“We each offer something unique to our membership, and we can share it,” she said in an interview.
“Having the resources available to do that helps our members in general, and provides services and products they can all benefit from.”
She declined to speculate what may happen if the upcoming Kingston vote falls through.
“There would have to be a task force meeting,” she said.
She said the fact that Kingston already voted it down once does “absolutely not” make her question whether amalgamation is in the best interest of members.
Task force was formed one year ago
In June, members of the KAREA, Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), Renfrew County Real Estate Board (RCREB) and Rideau-St. Lawrence Real Estate Board (RSLREB) learned of a plan for regional integration, spearheaded by a task force made up of representatives from all five Eastern regional real estate boards.
The proposal focused on enhancing professional services, increasing advocacy, and better positioning members to meet evolving industry demands and opportunities.
In December 2024, each of the five boards of directors gave tentative approval to a proposed amalgamation, pending affirmative voting results by the members of each board.
The Ottawa and Renfrew County boards have already voted in favour of the merger.
This amalgamation would create the third-largest real estate association in Ontario.
Cornwall board bows out
Cornwall and District Real Estate Board proposed the amalgamation to its members, but formally withdrew from the process before it went to an official vote.
Cornwall’s membership was scheduled to vote in March. However, Kingston’s defeated vote upended the entire motion for the five boards to merge, CDREB president Derek McEwen told Real Estate Magazine.
Rather than a formal vote, “Cornwall’s Board conducted a poll of our membership, and the results came back with an overwhelming majority that, had it been an official vote, our members would have voted against amalgamation,” said McEwen.
The topic of amalgamation is not unique to Eastern Ontario. In August 2023, several Ontario boards merged to form the Central Lakes Association of Realtors.
Courtney Zwicker is a digital reporter and associate editor for REM. Based in Atlantic Canada, she has over a decade of experience covering daily business news.
If this vote doesn’t go through a second time, why would there have to be a task force meeting to see what to do? That would be a pretty clear sign of how KAREA members see this amalgamation issue. It also kind of highlights how they view the KAREA members, uninformed as to the advantages of amalgamation, of which they have not yet made a clear case for.
A lack of clear benefits, lack of information available for KAREA members to make an informed decision, and a task force that was fully pro-amalgamation and no identification of any negatives that could result from this.
We wouldn’t recommend this course of action to a client of ours, so why are we doing this to ourselves?
The theme here is, BOD just do not get members . Toronto wants more money voted down. These guys want amalgamation voted down . FVREB SGM by law changes members vote it down overwhelmingly.
“ The difficulty with communication is the illusion it has occurred “
Hear Hear
The actual amalgamation would take one year at least with up to two years as a transition. This is the time that all the issues pointed out in this article will be addressed. As for the financials if you attend your associations AGM you would be made aware of the financial status of your association. This information is easily accessible. You can find the financials for RECO as a registrant. I am sure there is no covert secret mission to this amalgamation. As for assets of an Association such as Cornwall, I would imagine they are not really substantial and amalgamating with a larger association would probably be a benefit for them. As I have heard for a number of years Ontario Realtors have been crying for one Provincial Association. This amalgamation would be one step closer to that goal. And to ensure you keep receiving that data amalgamation is the best next step to this. Leveraging resources and building capacity.
No one has claimed there is anything covert to the amalgamation.
There is a simple and respectful fix to much of this:
– Share all the information that can be legally and ethically disclosed
– Provide a balanced, clearly laid-out list of pros and cons
– Retire the “just trust us” language, which feels dismissive of a membership that is clearly engaged, capable, and deserving of transparency
We are professionals. We analyze risks. We weigh facts. We make informed decisions. All we ask is to be treated accordingly.
While it was acknowledged that a petition with at least 10% of member signatures must be addressed ( as per ONCA), the assertion that this is a “substantially different issue” feels like a stretch. If this is in fact a new issue, then it stands to reason that new information and an appropriate assessment timeline should accompany it—not merely a re-use of previous materials. If the information is the same, the issue remains the same. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck—it’s still a duck.
Read up on the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporation Act (ONCA for more info.
Democracy in motion. Boards can be local and independent but perhaps improve common interface technology such as joint listing /database systems showing systems and key box. Otherwise, the provincial regulator provides the global oversight