Bill Madder spent 47 years making real estate better. Now, it’s time for golf.

Saskatchewan Realtors Association CEO Chris Guérette with Bill Madder at his retirement party earier this month (photo: LSTAR). 

Bill Madder has spent nearly five decades championing the real estate industry’s members, associations and its future. 

This month, the CEO of the London & St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) retired after a career that carried him to leadership positions in three provinces. Along the way, he became one of organized real estate’s most trusted voices and most generous mentors.

“There are so many opportunities to help in a positive way,” Madder said in an interview with Real Estate Magazine. “If we all thought about helping each other, our industry would be better.”

A career that started with a newspaper ad

Madder celebrating his retirement with the leadership of the Canadian Real Estate Association (left to right: David Oikle, Garry Bhaura, Bill Madder, Janice Myers, Luc Woolsey).

Madder got his real estate licence in Manitoba in 1979 at the age of 22, answering a classified ad on a hunch that the industry might suit him. “I had a couple of other jobs, but I was not real happy with what I was doing, and I thought real estate looked like a pretty interesting opportunity,” he said. “So I replied to the ad, they hired me, and I guess it went from there.”

He began selling in Brandon, the nearest city to where he was raised in rural Manitoba, and quickly became drawn to the organized side of the industry, becoming a director early on with the Brandon Real Estate Board, and eventually board president in 1989–90. 

By 1993, he had moved into association management full-time as executive officer, a role he held until 2000.

Building organized real estate across the Prairies

In 2001, Madder moved to Saskatoon to become CEO of the Saskatchewan provincial association, a role he would hold for 19 years. Chris Guérette, today’s CEO at the Saskatchewan Realtors Association, said Madder had a philosophy about the province’s potential as a testing ground for new ideas.

“I often heard Bill say that Saskatchewan was the perfect place to try new ideas — large enough to make an impact, but nimble enough to move quickly,” said Guérette. “He was always the first to embrace emerging technology and explore how it could transform the real estate industry.”

Among the defining achievements of his tenure was amalgamation, consolidating 14 boards down to three, and ultimately merging those into today’s SRA. The path included at least one failed vote before the deal came together.

“Instead of dwelling on the setback, he told me they were already regrouping and preparing for the next attempt,” Guérette recalled. “That was Bill — resilient, focused and always looking forward.”

“That amalgamation was finalized at the end of 2019, which was a great deal,” Madder said. “Which also meant that I had worked myself out of a job.”

After a brief flirtation with retirement in early 2020, Madder took on the LSTAR CEO role in London that April, starting remotely from his Saskatoon basement in the early weeks of COVID-19. He had committed to five years, and he ultimately stayed for six.

Lifting others as he climbed 

Perhaps no aspect of Madder’s career stands out more than his commitment to developing those around him, a trait that left a mark on colleagues across multiple provinces.

Nicole Christy, CEO of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB), credits him with opening doors she might not have found on her own.

“From my earliest days, Bill championed me — opening doors, offering guidance, and creating opportunities I wouldn’t have found on my own,” said Christy. “He brought me to LSTAR in southwestern Ontario and later put my name forward for OREB. Bill leads by lifting others — always reaching back to help people move forward.”

Guérette echoed that assessment, saying that above all policy achievements or organizational milestones, Madder’s greatest legacy is the people and teams he built. 

“He had a unique ability to push others to grow a little faster and dream a little bigger than they believed they could themselves,” she said. “He invested in emerging leaders, stayed connected with younger voices across industries, and was always eager to learn from others. That openness, curiosity, and commitment to developing people created a lasting impact that extends far beyond real estate.”

Christy described his broader leadership legacy as rooted in deep industry experience and a rare gift for bringing people together. “He carried that brand of leadership from Manitoba to Saskatchewan and ultimately to Ontario,” she said. “He worked across all three levels of organized real estate, guiding through periods of significant change — legislative, technological and otherwise.” 

And, she added, “He leaves every association — and its members — stronger than he found them.”

An advocate for industry input

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) CEO John DiMichele helping to send Madder off into retirement.

Among the issues Madder tracked closely during his time in Ontario was the transformation of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) following the iPro Realty Ltd. situation, which raised significant public trust concerns for the profession. While supportive of government oversight, Madder said he would like to see the industry have a stronger voice at the table going forward.

“I don’t like the idea of government control, but oversight is very important, and it proved itself in that situation,” he said, adding that LSTAR has personally met with RECO’s administrator, Jean Lépine. 

He noted it’s encouraging that RECO has committed to consulting an industry advisory group as it maps out its new board, and expressed hope that the door would eventually open to industry representation on the board of directors. 

Looking ahead: optimistic about the industry, focused on the grandkids

Madder is upbeat about where the industry is headed. He sees technology and artificial intelligence not as threats, but as tools that will free up real estate agents to do what they do best. 

“The service our members provide is something I don’t believe can be digitized,” he said. “The time I often spent doing administrative things, like picking up keys, phoning for appointments, is now handled by technology, so members can spend more time creating relationships with their clients.”

As for his own next chapter, Madder is keeping it simple. He and his wife plan to move back to Manitoba to be near their daughter and her young family. His priorities for the foreseeable future, he says with a laugh, are the two G’s: grandkids and golf.

“This industry tends to hold on to us,” he added, “so there might be something out there. But honestly, I have nothing in the works. I’m just going to relax for a bit.”

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