2025 Awards of Excellence & Franchisees' Choice Designation
Deadline for registration is February 7, 2025
The Awards of Excellence are awarded to CFA franchisor members that have demonstrated the strongest and most mutually beneficial relationships with their franchisees. There are two categories: CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising, and the Franchisee’s Choice Designation.
Considered the pinnacle of franchise achievement in Canada, the CFA Awards of Excellence in Franchising are given annually to franchise systems that have demonstrated superior franchise relations, leadership, training, and communications.
To reflect the wide range of franchise opportunities in Canada and to enable franchise systems to be rated against peers in their class, the Awards of Excellence include seven categories. Winners are determined from the franchisees’ assessments and a weighting is given for a higher response rate. The prestigious CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising Grand Prize is given to a Gold winner in the Traditional category and a Gold winner in the Non-Traditional category.
The Franchisees’ Choice Designation honours CFA member franchise systems with exceptional rankings in franchisee satisfaction.
Franchisees are asked to assess their franchisor in key areas of the franchise business model, including the franchisee selection process, franchisee information package, leadership, business planning and marketing, training, and support, as well as ongoing operations and the relationship between the franchisor and franchisee.
In the due diligence process of investigating a franchise opportunity, speaking with existing franchisees about the opportunity being explored is essential. For prospective franchisees, the Franchisees’ Choice Designation identifies that a franchise brand has received a solid endorsement through its satisfaction ratings from its franchisees.
* Before registering for the 2025 Awards of Excellence & Franchisees’ Choice Designation, please take note of the following requirements:
Entry into the CFA Awards Program is FREE and exclusive to current Franchise System (FS) members of the Canadian Franchise Association that meet the following criteria:
- Franchise must be a CFA Franchise System Member in good standing
- Have a minimum of 6 franchisees (owners and not just locations)
- For New and Emerging Franchise Systems with 6-10 franchisees, 100% must participate in the survey to qualify
- For all other Franchise Systems with 6-100 franchisees, at least 10 must participate in the survey effort to qualify
- For all other Franchise Systems with over 100 franchisees, at least 10% must participate in the survey effort to qualify
Take the opportunity now to enter in the CFA Awards of Excellence and Franchisees’ Choice Designation Awards Program. As a CFA member, your franchise brand is welcome to take part in this powerful and high profile program for free.*
Winning the CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising is the pinnacle of franchise achievement in Canada and is the highest recognition a franchise system can receive from CFA.
Achieving the Franchisees’ Choice Designation enhances your company profile by increasing awareness of your franchise brand’s success with franchisee relations. This will assist in attracting the best and most-qualified prospective franchisees.
Many franchisors participate every year, gaining knowledge, benchmarking their progress, and making the most of their CFA member benefits. Participating gives you three ways to win an award:
- The Awards of Excellence Grand Prize Award;
- The Awards of Excellence Category Awards (with Bronze, Silver and Gold placements); and
- Franchisees’ Choice Designation, honouring franchise systems with levels of franchisee satisfaction that exceed a benchmark established by the CFA.
Additionally, all entrants are able to receive a benchmarking report of the results for your system, which will provide you with aggregated data on your franchisees’ responses as well as the comparative aggregated benchmark* results for both your specific category and all entries together.
There is no cost to participate and it is open exclusively to CFA franchise system members. (Not a CFA member? Become a member today.)
One questionnaire. Two award program opportunities. Plus insightful franchisee satisfaction benchmark report. There’s no reason
The deadline for registration is February 7, 2025 but we encourage you to start early. This provides your franchisees with the most time to complete their surveys.
The CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising winners and Franchisees’ Choice designees will be announced at a gala awards presentation on April 7, 2025 during the CFA National Convention in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
*Optional benchmark report available for a fee.
Entry into the CFA Awards Program is free and exclusive to members of the Canadian Franchise Association that:
- have been franchising for at least 2 years, and
- have at least 6 franchisees (owners and not just locations)
To qualify, eligible brands must meet certain franchisee participation levels, as follows:
For New and Emerging Systems:
- with 6-10 franchisees, 100% must participate;
For all other systems:
- up to 100 franchisees, at least 10 must participate
- over 100 franchisees, at least 10% must participate
Eligibility requirements are based on Canadian operations.
Entry Process
Entry is by brand – each brand must complete their own questionnaire and submit a distinct franchisee contact list. Entry into the program is free and can be completed in a few easy steps:
- Use the button on the upper right to go to the registration page, or request the link from ssymonds@cfa.ca
- Complete the registration and choose your start date.
- You will be notified via e-mail by The Portage Group of receipt of your registration and you will be requested to provide an electronic contact list of all your franchisees.
- Submit your electronic contact list to The Portage Group.
- Franchisees will receive an e-mail invitation to participate based on the date you choose. To help franchise systems promote franchisee participation, franchisors are provided with an e-mail template to send to their franchisees. The template provides information about the CFA Awards Program to encourage franchisees to take 15 minutes to complete the online survey.
- Franchisees complete the 15-minute Franchisee Survey online and must submit their responses within the specified time.
- The Portage Group will amalgamate all of the franchisee responses and determine winners for each category
To reflect the wide range of franchise opportunities in Canada and to enable franchise systems to be rated against their peers in their class, the Awards of Excellence include seven categories.
Winners are determined from the franchisee’s assessments and a weighting is given for a higher response rate. The prestigious CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising Grand Prize is given to a Gold winner in the Traditional category and a Gold winner in the Non-Traditional category.
Survey participants fall into one of seven categories based on type of system from Traditional Franchises (i.e. those with bricks and mortar locations) and Non-Traditional Franchises (i.e. mobile, home-based, etc.), then grouped based on number of franchisees:
Traditional Franchise Systems (i.e. brick and mortar locations)
6-20 Franchisees
21-49 Franchisees
50-99 Franchisees
100+ Franchisees
Non-Traditional Franchise Systems (i.e. mobile or home-based)
6-20 Franchisees
21-49 Franchisees
50+ Franchisees
From among the Gold winners, two Grand Prizes are awarded – one to the entrant with the highest score in the Non-Traditional Category, and one to the entrant with the highest score in the Traditional category. All awards are presented during an Awards Gala at the CFA National Convention. Results are calculated from the franchisees’ assessments, and a weighting is given for a higher response rate, to determine a Gold, Silver, and Bronze winner for each of the seven categories. Scoring is based on a scale of 1 to 10 to provide a granular assessment and to enhance the value and accuracy of determining a winner.
Franchisees’ Choice Designation
Franchisees’ Choice Designees are entrants whose survey scores exceed the benchmark standard. Designees are ranked equally and appear alphabetically on a list of winners published on CFA’s website and in its print magazines. Additionally, CFA recognizes consecutive winners who have won more than five years in a row.
The optional Benchmarking Report provides significant added value to participants as it provides a deeper understanding of the franchisor/franchisee relationship.
The benchmarking Report can be purchased for an additional fee of $460+tax if ordered before April 13th or $785+tax if purchased April 14th onwards.
The Benchmarking Report generated by the Portage Group provides a comparative summary of your franchisee’s average responses with:
- The responses from all franchisees in the same category;
- The responses from all franchisee respondents in all categories;
- …and includes your own responses for reference.
The benchmarking report will provide insight into franchisees’ assessments across the following seven categories:
- Franchisee Selection Process
- Leadership
- Training and Support
- Operations and Improvement
- Marketing
- Franchisor and Franchisee Relations
- Business Planning
Survey responses will be held in the strictest confidence and no individual respondent or specific brand will be identified. For some questions, respondents will be invited to make comments. These comments will be made available to the franchisor and respondents will be asked not to put any identifying information in the responses unless they wish to be identified for those questions only.
The Portage Group is an independent research firm that has been mandated to administer the CFA Awards Program surveys. Survey responses will be held in the strictest confidence and no individual respondent will be identified.
For some questions, respondents will be invited to make comments. These comments will be made available to the franchisor and respondents will be asked not put any identifying information in the responses unless respondents wish to be identified for those questions only.
The names of the franchise systems participating in the CFA Awards Program are never disclosed except as winners, top finalists or Franchisees’ Choice designees. Franchisee contact information is used solely for the purpose of administering the CFA Awards Program.
2024 Awards of Excellence
2024 Awards of Excellence
Traditional Franchises (i.e. bricks and mortar locations)
Grand Prize Winner: Willowbrae Academy
6-15 Franchisees
Gold: Inspiration Learning Center
Silver: Megamind Learning Centre
Bronze: Urospot
16-29 Franchisees
Gold: Willowbrae Academy
Silver: MaxWell Realty
Bronze: Symposium Café & White Spot
30-99 Franchisees
Gold: Triple O’s
Silver: Print Three Franchising Corporation
Bronze: Edo Japan
100+ Franchisees
Gold: Pizza Nova
Silver: A&W Food Services of Canada Inc.
Bronze: Mary Brown’s Chicken
Non-Traditional Franchises (i.e. mobile, home-based, etc.)
Grand Prize Winner: MaidPro
6-15 Franchisees
Gold: MaidPro
Silver: Wise Cracks
Bronze: Prep’n Sell
16-29 Franchisees
Gold: Everline Coatings and Services
Silver: TWO MEN AND A TRUCK
Bronze: CertaPro Painters
30+ Franchisees
Gold: New Creations
Silver: Paul Davis Restoration Canada
Bronze: Right at Home Canada
2024 Franchisees' Choice Designation
The Franchisees’ choice award is a nice recognition and confirmation that we are doing things right and that our Franchisees are behind us. We have a unique relationship with our franchisees, that is all cemented in our brand.
– Andrea Mackey, President, Wise Cracks
Winning the Gold Award of Excellence in the category of Traditional Franchises – Mature/Established is important because it represents direct feedback from the Franchise Partners we serve. Then to be further recognized as the top franchise system in the country through the CFA Award of Excellence in Franchising Grand Prize is simply amazing because we are competing with the best of the best in franchising in Canada.
Michael Drever, former CEO and Founder, Expedia CruiseShipCenters (2010 Winner)
This award is the largest achievement a franchise system can aspire to win. It is truly amazing to be recognized as a leading franchise system in Canada.
Darryl Sangster, President and COO, Sangster’s Health Centres (2009 Winner)
For any questions about CFA Awards, please email at lzita@cfa.ca