In a bit of serendipity mixed with destiny, winning the grand prize in the 2023 CHEO Dream of a Lifetime lottery was meant to be for Tanya Lalonde:
- She bought the winning ticket in the final hour before the three-month lottery closed.
- The family’s only car had been badly damaged the day before she found out she won and she and her husband, David, had no idea how they would replace it (her grand prize included a new Mustang plus $100,000 in cash).
- And the bold style and design of the home, which would not appeal to everyone, was exactly what Lalonde would have chosen herself.
“It was just perfect timing,” says the mother of three.
Money had been tight for the family. Lalonde was on leave from her job at the University of Ottawa to attend McGill University for her master’s degree in social work and they had just bought a new home in Gatineau in the fall. But a mortgage and car replacement on one income were a challenge.
“We had just been talking (about) how are we going to get through the rest of this year? And then the next morning we got this call saying that we won the Dream of a Lifetime lottery.”
But while it was a windfall, winning the grand prize was not without challenges. They had just moved and were now facing moving again — and changing both cities and provinces — with three children (then 18, 16 and 12) who were well-established in their schools and community.
“It has been really hard for them to move,” she says. The family took it slow, visiting the home over the first two months they owned it before officially moving at the end of March. Because the kids were not finished the school year, that meant four hours a day for Mom and Dad commuting between their Gatineau schools and their new Manotick home.
This year, the children are attending school in their new community and, if all goes well, the family will stay in their new home.
“We’ll probably reassess at the end of the school year to see if they’re happy or not,” Lalonde says. “But for David and me, we love it here. We love the house; we love the property; we love the community. We’re looking at staying long term if we can.”
She says that even several months later, it still feels surreal to have won.
“David and I still sit here sometimes in the backyard or on the balcony and we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is our house. That’s crazy.’ It’s so beautiful; we really love it.”
Happily, the home’s British equestrian manor style is exactly to their taste, says Lalonde, who admits to being obsessed with the period dramas Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice. Plus, having grown up on a farm with a foster family that was very much into horses, the home’s theme fit perfectly.
MORE: Take a tour of the 2023 Minto dream home
“I grew up riding bareback, riding Western style. The horses have always been a really big part of my life. So, it was really cool to walk in here and see that that was the theme.” (She had not visited the home before winning it.)
Of course she’ll buy a ticket again this year. She can see the 2024 Minto dream home from her windows and has enjoyed watching it go up.
What advice would she give to the winner of this year’s home?
“Really take your time to take it all in and enjoy it and get really good advice on making decisions that are right for you and your family.” She and David had legal assistance included in their prize package but also sought independent financial advice. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity that it’s given us,” she says, “but it can be super overwhelming.”
Growing up as an Indigenous person in the foster care system her whole life, she says being able to enjoy this windfall “has been such a beautiful thing. And I’m really, really, really thankful.”
Does she feel like it was meant to be? Absolutely.
“It all kind of came together at the right time, just when we were wondering how we were going to make it through. And then this huge, huge surprise blessing fell on us. And it’s just been life changing for us.”
This year’s Dream of Lifetime lottery launched on Sept. 4 and runs until Dec. 13.
