Your Brokerage Isn't a Nationalist Movement

Agents using "Canadian-Owned" as a marketing flex are flat-out stupid

The False Nationalism of Real Estate Marketing

I recently came across a TikTok video from a Canadian-owned brokerage agent who posed a question to her audience:

"I have a genuine question for Canadian consumers. If you are planning on buying or selling a piece of property and your current real estate agent is affiliated with a brokerage that is an American brand, will you continue to use them? Or, with all that’s happening in the world right now, will you switch to a Canadian brokerage - an agent that works with a Canadian brand?"

Translation: Would you rather buy and sell real estate with a True Canadian™ agent, or do you want your transaction tainted by American influence?

Your real estate deal is not a geopolitical statement. No one is sitting around thinking, "I really want to sell my house… but I just can’t in good conscience work with a RE/MAX agent right now." This is not just a horrible take—it’s also completely out of touch with how real estate actually works. The implication was clear - this brokerage is Canadian through and through, while brands like RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and Century 21 are foreign influences infiltrating the market. And in today’s economically tense climate between Canada and the U.S., she framed it as a real concern for buyers and sellers.

This was not an actual market discussion. This was a marketing play, designed to make a brokerage affiliation sound like a patriotic choice. But here’s the problem:

• There is nothing "American" about a Canadian agent working under an American franchise.

• Brokerage branding has absolutely no impact on a client’s real estate transaction.

• This argument is pure optics and completely irrelevant to the realities of buying and selling homes.

Your Brokerage Has Nothing to Do With Your Ability to Sell Homes

Let’s break this down.

Clients hire agents, not brokerage brands. No buyer or seller is thinking, “Well, I was going to hire you, but I just can’t support an American franchise.” What they actually care about:

• Do you know what you’re doing?

• Can you sell my home for top dollar?

• Will you represent me properly in this market?

If the biggest argument for working with you is patriotism, you might want to rethink your value proposition. What are you offering your clients if your nationalistic pride takes front and centre?

Working for an American-owned brand doesn’t make you American. RE/MAX, Keller Williams, and Century 21 are franchises. The agents who work under them are Canadian, licensed in Canada, working under Canadian laws, and following Canadian real estate practices. A RE/MAX agent in Hamilton is no different from a Royal LePage agent in Hamilton - except for their personal skill, experience, and marketing strategy.

Even Royal LePage isn’t fully “Canadian.” Royal LePage is owned by Bridgemarq Real Estate Services, a publicly traded company, meaning its shareholders could be from anywhere in the world.

If Canadian-owned is truly the selling point, then let’s take a look at some of the biggest players in the market:

RE/MAX Canada → Founded in Denver, Colorado, but dominated by local Canadian agents who run the business independently. By 1987, RE/MAX had become the top real estate company in Canada, a position it has maintained since. Today, RE/MAX has over 970 offices across Canada, with more than 25,000 agents serving communities nationwide.

Keller Williams Canada → Headquartered in Austin, Texas, but 100% run by Canadians in the Canadian market. As of 2022, Keller Williams has over 191,000 agents worldwide, with a significant number operating in Canada.

Century 21 Canada → Canadian-operated, despite being part of a U.S. franchise network. The first Century 21 office in Canada opened in British Columbia in February 1976. Today, Century 21 Canada is proudly Canadian-owned and operated.

A Desperate Marketing Play

Let’s be clear—this is nothing more than a weak attempt at differentiation in an industry where brokerage branding holds minimal influence over consumer decisions. Buyers and sellers aren’t choosing a brokerage, they’re choosing an agent they trust. And that agent, by necessity, must be licensed under a brokerage.

Real estate brokerages exist to provide infrastructure, resources, and support for agents, not to dictate consumer loyalty. The decision to affiliate with a particular brokerage is agent-driven, based on the tools, reputation, and operational advantages that best serve their business. As a RE/MAX agent, my decision was based on brand recognition, 24/7 front desk support, and a level of credibility that holds weight in my local market. Every agent makes a brokerage choice that aligns with their business strategy, not because they expect consumers to care about the corporate ownership behind the logo.

The real question here isn’t whether clients care about brokerage ownership, it’s why an agent would think to ask this in the first place. Was this a personal grasp at a marketing angle, or was this part of a larger, coordinated effort?

Because let’s be honest, this feels like something out of a corporate email blast. A pre-packaged, half-baked talking point designed to give agents something to say in a slow market.

If We’re Playing the “Patriotic Real Estate” Game, Let’s Go All In

If we’re going to pretend that brokerage ownership matters, let’s take it further.

By this logic:

• Should buyers only purchase homes built by Canadian-owned developers?

• Should mortgage borrowers refuse to work with banks that have U.S. investors?

• Should we audit where every dollar in our real estate economy originates before making a transaction?

This is the most unserious marketing strategy I’ve seen in a while. Real estate is a global industry. Our economy, home prices, lending structure, and investment markets are intertwined with international forces. Pretending that real estate should be a nationalist decision is not only tone-deaf… it’s desperate.

Same Name, Different Rules

One of the biggest flaws in the “Canadian vs. American brokerage” argument is the assumption that just because a brokerage operates in both countries, its agents follow the same rules.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. A RE/MAX agent in Toronto and a RE/MAX agent in Miami operate under completely different legal, regulatory, and ethical frameworks. The brand might be international, but real estate is a locally governed industry.

Key Differences Between U.S. and Canadian Brokerages

Licensing & Regulation

• In Canada, real estate is regulated at the provincial level, meaning the rules and licensing requirements differ between Ontario, B.C., Alberta, etc.

• In the U.S., real estate is regulated at the state level, and requirements vary widely (some states require extensive training, while others are shockingly easy to get licensed in).

Commission Structures & Transparency

• In Canada, agents cannot advertise commission rates publicly due to industry regulations.

• In the U.S., commission transparency is changing dramatically due to lawsuits against the National Association of Realtors (NAR), which are forcing new rules around how agents disclose compensation.

Legal & Ethical Standards

• RECO (Ontario), CREA (National), and other provincial bodies govern real estate ethics in Canada.

• In the U.S., real estate professionals are often governed by NAR (National Association of Realtors), but enforcement varies state by state.

MLS & Listing Data

• In Canada, MLS systems are regional and controlled by local real estate boards.

• In the U.S., MLS systems are often fragmented, overlapping, and controlled by competing entities, making data access more complex.

A RE/MAX agent in Canada is bound by Canadian real estate law, just as a RE/MAX agent in the U.S. follows American regulations. Their brokerage affiliation doesn’t unify them under a single governance structure.

So the idea that a brokerage’s nationality impacts how an agent operates is not just misleading, it’s fundamentally incorrect. If anything, this proves that an agent’s competence, expertise, and professionalism matter far more than the logo on their sign.

The Real Threat

If we’re really talking about what should concern Canadian buyers and sellers, it’s not whether their agent’s brokerage has a U.S. parent company, it’s who is actually shaping the market. Because if you want to talk about foreign influence in Canadian real estate, let’s talk about:

1. Institutional Investors and Corporate Landlords

The real power players in today’s real estate market aren’t brokerage franchises, they’re corporations and private equity groups swallowing up housing supply. Wall Street-backed firms are buying rental properties in bulk, turning single-family homes into permanent investment assets instead of places for people to live.

The idea that a RE/MAX agent in Canada is somehow a pipeline to American control is hilarious when companies like BlackRock and Core Development Group have been quietly expanding their grip on Canadian housing for years.

2. Government Policies That Are Squeezing Out Buyers

Foreign buyers have already been banned in Canada for two years. But has affordability improved? Not even close. The real obstacles to homeownership aren’t whether an agent works at a Canadian brokerage, but rather:

• Soaring interest rates that have doubled mortgage costs.

• Stricter stress tests that block first-time buyers from getting approved.

• A complete failure to increase housing supply at the rate of population growth.

A buyer choosing between a Royal LePage agent and a Keller Williams agent isn’t what’s stopping them from getting into the market. It’s the structural problems policymakers refuse to solve.

3. The Commodification of Housing Itself

The biggest issue in real estate isn’t which brokerage brand a client picks, it’s the fact that housing is increasingly treated as a speculative asset rather than a basic necessity.

Governments encourage real estate as an investment first, housing second. Pre-construction projects are being sold to investors before they ever hit the market for end users. Short-term rental laws barely put a dent in the thousands of units that sit empty, generating passive income for investors rather than sheltering people.

And yet, instead of discussing any of this, we’re supposed to believe that brokerage nationalism is a talking point worth engaging with?

The Real Question Agents Should Be Asking

If you’re an agent who wants to differentiate yourself, ask yourself this:

• Are you providing actual market intelligence, or just empty branding?

• Do you have a pricing and negotiation strategy that gives clients a competitive edge?

• Are you educating buyers and sellers about the actual forces shaping the market?

Because if your strongest value proposition is “I work for a Canadian-owned brokerage”, I guarantee that someone else, someone who understands how to actually navigate this market, is going to outperform you.

And in the long run? Clients will always choose results over rhetoric.