Canadian excellence drew accolades as the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International bestowed the 2026 TOBY awards and recognized individual leadership at its annual Conference and Expo, in Long Beach, California, last week. This year, Canada delivered up five international champions emerging from the three-stage process to identify and honour top performers in 19 building categories, along with three prominent contributors who were acknowledged for their work and commitment within BOMA and the broader industry.

“From coast to coast to coast, Canadian commercial real estate showed up strong on the international stage,” observes Benjamin Shinewald, president and chief executive officer of BOMA Canada. “It’s a proud moment for our industry and a true reflection of the people, passion and excellence behind these properties.”

The BOMA International TOBY award-winners are chosen from a pool of candidates that have already been declared best in their categories at a local and then regional level. (Canadian competitors in 2026 are all 2025 recipients of BOMA Canada national awards and initial awards from their own BOMA chapters.) A fresh slate of judges renders the decisions at each stage, but does so based on consistent criteria that considers: community impact; tenant and employee relations programs; energy management; accessibility; emergency evacuation procedures; building personnel training programs; and overall excellence.

Notably, three distinct Canadian owner/manager teams combined to sweep the retail awards in this year’s International TOBY competition. Those winners include:

• Park Place Shopping Centre, Lethbridge, AB, in the category of enclosed malls with a maximum footprint of 1 million square feet. The property is owned by Primaris REIT and managed by Primaris Management Inc.;
• Scarborough Town Centre, Toronto, ON, in the category of enclosed malls encompassing more than 1 million square feet of space. The property is jointly owned by Oxford Properties Group/OMERS and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation, and managed by Oxford Properties Group; and
• Taunton Gardens, Whitby, ON, in the category of open-air and strip malls. The property is owned by Canada Post Pension Plan and managed by Colliers.

Nor were there any owner/manager repeaters in the other two Canadian wins. Those are:

• Transport Depot, Edmonton, AB, in the industrial building category. It is owned by bcIMC Realty Corporation and Canadian Core Real Estate LP, and managed by QuadReal Property Group; and
• Eleventh Avenue Place, Calgary, AB, in the category of office buildings ranging from 100,000 to 249,999 square feet. It is owned HOOPP Realty Inc. and managed by GWL Realty Advisors.

Turning to individual honours, Don Fairgrieve-Park received the BOMA International Chair’s award for a remarkable second time this decade. The award recognizes meritorious leadership that has benefited the commercial real estate industry and broader community and served as a role model for commitment and professionalism. Fairgrieve-Park is an executive vice president, operational excellence, with QuadReal Property Group and a member on BOMA British Columbia. He is a BOMA Fellow, the recipient of the 2020 BOMA Canada Chair’s Award and 2023 recipient of the BOMA International Chair’s Award.

Richard Morden, a member and past chair of BOMA Calgary, was named Regional Member of the Year, representing Canada. He is senior vice president, western Canada commercial properties, with QuadReal Property Group.

BOMA lifetime member status was conveyed to Kim Saunders, a member of BOMA Newfoundland and Labrador. The designation is reserved for exemplary BOMA members of at least 20-years standing who have retired from the industry. Saunders is a BOMA Fellow, a recent retiree from East Port Properties, and a stalwart of BOMI Education Canada, in which she has held the roles of chair and board member.