April 2025, Toronto Ontario– CENTURY 21 Leading Edge Realty Inc. and CENTURY 21 Atria Realty have officially announced that both brokerages will operate under a shared ownership group, marking a new chapter for over 1,400 agents within the legacy Canadian real estate brand.
Both brokerages, which operate under the CENTURY 21 Canada brand, will now be headed by Paul Baron and Tasis Giannoukakis (from Leading Edge) and Stephen Chow (from Atria). “When I first started CENTURY 21 Atria, I looked for advice from established brokers,” explains Stephen Chow of the first time he met his future leadership partners. “They explained so much about the industry and even though we were a small company at the time, I realized that they embraced challenges and competition, and they had the foresight to see what we could become.”
“When I first met Paul, I saw a like-mindedness. Partnerships come from shared goals and vision, and our ships were travelling in the same direction,” says Tasis Giannoukakis. “And then years later as we got to know Stephen, there was a similar feeling of having the same vision for what we wanted our businesses to grow into.”
Though the brokerages will operate under shared ownership, neither will undergo any external branding changes, and agents will not notice any major changes in day-to-day operations. Both will remain under their respective names and agents will continue working with their respective management teams.
Paul Baron recognizes that no matter how big C21 Leading Edge gets, there are always growth opportunities to find. “When you take on the role of running a business with partners, you realize that you don’t just accomplish three times the work, you’re able to do ten times. Success will eventually plateau, so it’s important to find partners who will be able to work with you.”
The agents of both brokerages will feel the benefits of this new partnership, assures Stephen. “With the market being challenging, we have to provide more opportunities for agents to get the upper hand. We both have a lot of different strengths, different things we can provide and great management teams, and we look forward to the future for our agents.”
“Stephen brings strengths to the table that we don’t have and vice-versa, and that’s what excited us about this,” adds Tasis. “Ultimately, this is a win-win for both companies and for all of the agents.”
The owners acknowledge that this change has been in the works through the many changes that the Canadian real estate industry has seen over the last few years. “When you look at the massive amount of change in the real estate industry, Canada is in a great position,” explains Paul. “The companies who are in a great position to make headway have strength in numbers and can provide what agents need to get ahead.
I’ve been in the business for forty years and the brokerages that are going to make hay in the coming years will strive to provide a whole new level of service to agents.”
CENTURY 21 Canada President & CEO Martin Charlwood was on stage for the public announcement last week. “These two franchises have consistently demonstrated an ability to thrive in a competitive environment,” he said to the gathered agents. “Yet they didn’t stop with their current success and recognized that the best way to honor their agents’ trust and loyalty was to find new ways to grow and deliver the best service to them.
We may not know what the coming months will hold for the real estate industry here in Canada, but these are leaders who are experienced, careful, and will always keep the best interests of their agents in mind, and we wish them success as they kick off this new venture together.”
Staff at both brokerages were informed separately last week before a Spring
kick-off event on April 3 formally announced the change publicly. Both brokerages are coming off banner years within the global C21 system – each had offices rank in the Global Top 21 of all offices in the world, with Atria receiving the distinction of the number one office worldwide.
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Learn more at www.c21.ca
About CENTURY 21 Canada™ Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership (century21.ca) is a real estate master franchisor with complete rights to the CENTURY 21® brand in Canada.
The CENTURY 21 System is one of the world’s largest residential real estate brokerage franchisors, CENTURY 21 has approximately 13,000 franchise offices and more than 145,000 independent sales associates located in 86 countries and territories.
Independently Owned and Operated. ®/™ trademarks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC used under license or authorized sub-license. ©2024 Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership.
The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS® and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.
In Photo – L-R: C21 Canada Executive Vice President Todd Shyiak, Stephen Chow, Tasis Giannoukakis, Paul Baron, and C21 President and CEO Martin Charlwood
