Ottawa’s housing industry is celebrating three wins at the prestigious 2025 national housing awards, one award more than last year and this time including a first-time winner. The gala event was held May 15 in Victoria, B.C.
Local builders, renovators and other specialists had fielded nine finalists for this year’s Canadian Home Builders’ Association’s (CHBA) National Awards for Housing Excellence.
The Ottawa-area winners are Minto Communities Management, which took home two trophies, one of them with Laurysen Kitchens, and Morgan Quality Homes with The Cabinet Connection (that was the newbie winner).
The 2025 national housing awards saw a record-breaking 1,000+ entries in 48 categories, making it the association’s largest-ever awards event.
The Minto winners
Minto took home the trophy for Best Detached Production Home over 2,800 square feet for “Oasis,” which was the 2024 Minto dream home in the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime lottery.
At more than 5,000 square feet, the home blends contemporary and classic features and finishes, clean lines, and earth tones and natural materials, creating the calm ambience and revitalizing vibe you’d expect from an oasis. It has three bedrooms and a third-floor loft, which can serve as a fourth bedroom, a main floor lounge/office, a private spa and yoga studio, and more. The home’s green features include a solar panel system to help reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
MORE: Take a tour of the 2024 Minto dream home
The Oasis also won in the best production kitchen category, with Minto and Laurysen Kitchens sharing the honours. Laurysen created the open-concept kitchen’s 25-foot run of custom cabinetry, including glass-fronted storage space.
The Nordic-influenced space includes a stunning 13-foot island, which appears to be cantilevered, integrated appliances and a hidden pantry (the pantry door is by Laurysen) with a prep kitchen inside. An adjacent bump-out offers a dining area overlooking the backyard and a forested area that will not be developed. (The home’s interior was designed by Tanner Vine Interiors, which was not a co-entrant in these awards.)
Minto, headquartered in Ottawa, also won the Best Growing Community trophy for its Wildflower development in Calgary.
MORE: Read about Ottawa’s 2025 CHBA finalists
The Morgan winner
Morgan Quality Homes with The Cabinet Connection took the prize for best kitchen renovation, $70,000-$100,000. It dubbed the industrial-accented project The Show Kitchen & The Moody Butler.
Mixing hard and soft surfaces, including a metal-clad range hood and woven-shade pendant lights over the island, the kitchen was part of a larger renovation of the bungalow that spotlights a blend of western and industrial design elements. The larger project netted Morgan and The Cabinet Connection a nomination for best whole home renovation under $200,000.
Morgan was a finalist in a previous CHBA awards competition and for the All Things Home People’s Choice Award, a prominent component of the Ottawa Housing Design Awards.
