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For the 11th consecutive year, Wealth Professional brought together a wide cross-section of Canada’s wealth industry for an evening of recognition, networking, and celebration.
The 2025 edition of the WP Awards unfolded at a gala filled with dancing, dinner, and reunions. Amid the festivities, standout firms and individuals were honoured across a range of categories, with a select group named WP award-winners on the night.
“It’s really important that we recognize what we’re doing to help Canadians, to help investors, and to really showcase high quality and that great client experience,” said Wan Kim, managing director of national sales at Trez Capital.
Trez Capital sponsored the Dealer of the Year award, which was presented to Nicola Wealth.
Trez was one of several sponsors supporting this year’s event. Others included Franklin Templeton, PPI, Worldsource, Avenue Living, CMI, Desjardins, Equiton, ICM, Newlook Capital, Pier 4, SIMA, and FP Canada. Many sponsors said their participation reflects a broader investment in the industry’s future, beyond financial returns.
“Sponsoring the Financial Literacy Champion of the Year Award is a way to highlight those staying ahead of the curve,” said Christina Ashmore, managing director of IFSE Institute. “It evolves with your life, and the information keeps changing. That’s why we think it’s so important to keep supporting the industry’s work in this space.”
Themes of client service, innovation, and impact on Canadian households recurred throughout the evening.
“Investing is my passion, but it’s also my hobby,” said David LePoidevin, lead advisor at the LePoidevin Group of Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, after receiving the Franklin Templeton Award for Advisory Team of the Year (10 staff or more).
“When I wake up in the morning, I check the bond market; at the end of the day, I check the futures. I like to make money, and clients want to make money, so we’re all in it together.”
Liz Bouthillier, head of marketing and communications at Franklin Templeton, said the firm’s award reflects the increased complexity of the advisory profession.
“This award recognizes how complex the industry has become – with more product choice, more complex client demands, and a growing need to take a holistic view of how clients can achieve their goals.”
Cameron Smith, VP of private wealth at Nicola Wealth, emphasized the firm’s commitment to understanding clients before offering any recommendations.
Smith, who took home both the Trez Capital Award for Dealer of the Year and the PPI Award for Holistic Advisory Team of the Year, explained their process with clients. “We give no advice until we’ve spent hours getting to know our clients, financially and in terms of their values, emotions, and family. Deep discovery is the key to everything.”
Justin Janas, VP of private wealth solutions at Hamilton Lane, named Private Asset Investment Provider of the Year, emphasized the importance of “customer service, really getting in front of great people who use alternatives.” He added, “I would say the ease of accessing our fund – I think that really sets us apart compared to other providers.”
“To win this award back to back – it’s really about the team,” said Rohit Mehta, CEO of Global X, which won ETF Provider of the Year for the second consecutive year. He added that their success also reflects their connectivity with the markets and clients, and their ability to respond to evolving demands and needs.
Maili Wong of Wellington-Altus Private Wealth was presented with the Equiton Award for Canadian Advisor of the Year again, creating an opportunity for a third win in 2026.
“Being a key decision-making advisor is extremely impactful,” said Geoff Lang, SVP of business development at Equiton. “So much investment choice, so much media noise — we’re proud to sponsor advisors who put clients first and rise above the noise.”
New categories also featured at this year’s event. Skyline received recognition as the inaugural Real Estate Investment Provider of the Year and also won Employer of Choice.
“Real estate is crowded in Canada,” said Wayne Byrd, CFO at Skyline. “If we think about the Canadian population, 39 percent of the Canadian population is in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver. Where do the rest of the 61 percent live? In the rest of the country! And that’s where we focus on investing.”
Court Elliott, VP of marketing at AGF, pointed to longevity and adaptability after the firm won Mutual Fund Provider of the Year. “AGF has been around for almost 70 years. We’ve got a long track record of performance, incredible PMs, an incredible team... it really comes down to the people behind the organization.”
“As more and more people are retiring and need more stability, that’s what alternative investments are for,” said John Courtliff of ICM Asset Management, which sponsored an award focused on the alternative space.
Darren Gazdag, VP of sales at Pier 4, described the gala as “a privilege” and “a forum to recognize talent, innovation, and leadership.”
Now in its 11th year, the Wealth Professional Awards continues to celebrate the professionals and providers shaping the future of Canada’s wealth industry.
The 2025 winners showcase what’s possible when technological intelligence meets human insight – and why both matter more than ever.
It’s been a year where every success is worth celebrating. Canadian advisors have taken so much in stride over the past 12 months. Elections on both sides of the border, the existential threat of tariffs, a stock market correction, and a climate of unprecedented uncertainty.
Through all that, advisors have made themselves a port in the storm for their clients. I have listened to so many stories of reassurance, perseverance, and wisdom through this time and been continuously impressed by the level of service advisors offer. As this industry’s clients look ahead to the warm summer months, I know they are grateful to have strong financial advice. Tonight, we celebrate that remarkable achievement
Every year, the judging panel is impressed by the quality of excellence awardee submissions, commenting on the complexity, professionalism, innovation, and business acumen demonstrated by insurance professionals - 2025 is no exception. Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination. Tonight, we will reward the finest in the industry!
On behalf of our whole team at Key Media, I want to thank the panel of judges who contributed their considerable time and knowledge to the judging process. We had hundreds of quality nominations from across Canada and our judging panel had the unenviable task of narrowing that field to the list of excellence awardees you will see tonight.
Congratulations and good luck to all the excellence awardees. We hope you all have a fantastic night.
Finally, we would like to thank all our sponsors whose generous support of these awards is greatly appreciated. Our thanks go out to Avenue Living, CMI Financial Group, Desjadins, Equiton, ICM Asset Management, FP Canada, Franklin Templeton, Newlook Capital, Pier 4, PPI, SIMA (formerly IFIC), Trez Capital, Worldsource Financial Management Inc., Independent Advisor Solutions, PWC, Dean Davidson, and Bovine Wine Club.
View the full photo gallery here.
Stage 1 – Nominations
The call for nominations was open to all wealth management professionals and organizations – including financial advisors, advisory brokerages, BDMs, fund providers, and service providers – from across Canada.
Nominations ran from November 12, 2024, and were extended until February 21, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST.
To submit a nomination, entrants visited the Nominate page of the website, provided the nominee’s contact details, and shared a brief reason for nomination within a 300-word limit. There was no fee to submit a nomination.
Stage 2 – Research
The Wealth Professional Awards team conducted research and drew on knowledge and information gained through Wealth Professional to support and supplement the nominations received, ensuring no deserving candidate was overlooked. Excellence awardees were determined from both pools of information.
Stage 3 – Excellence Awardees
Once all nominations were considered and research was complete, excellence awardees were selected in each category (except the Lifetime Achievement category) and notified via e-mail or phone.
All excellence awardees were then invited to complete a detailed submission, providing an opportunity to address the category criteria more thoroughly. All submissions remained confidential unless otherwise marked and were not shared with any third parties beyond the judging panel.
Excellence awardees were officially announced in March 2025 on the event website and promoted through WP magazine and online channels. Promo packages to leverage their achievement across marketing and promotional efforts were made available for purchase.
Stage 4 – Judging
All submissions from the excellence awardees were forwarded to the independent judging panel, composed of industry leaders and senior representatives. Each section of the submission form was scored against an evaluation scale.
The cumulative scores from each section created a total score for each finalist. Each category had a minimum of three judges voting, and the combined total scores were used to determine the winners. The evaluation scale and questions were based on specific category criteria.
Voting commenced in April 2025. Judges were impartial, balanced, and fair in their assessments. Any judge with a conflict of interest recused themselves from judging the relevant category.
Stage 5 – Winners
Winners were announced at the awards show on June 5, 2025, and on the official event website. They were also promoted in Wealth Professional. Promo packages to help amplify their win across marketing and promotional channels were made available for purchase.
