RECO Signals Education-First Direction as Ontario Real Estate Oversight Evolves

RECO continues governance reset with renewed focus on education as a frontline tool for consumer protection and professional standards in Ontario real estate.

TORONTO, ON, APRIL 8, 2026 — Sector leaders gathered this week for RECO's Collaboration Summit in Toronto. OnePoint’s President; Jennifer Morley, President-Elect; Dillon Fraser and CEO; Katrina Steffler attended to represent our members and contribute their perspective on what meaningful, practical education should look like across Ontario.

The summit comes as RECO works to modernize how it regulates the profession, with an emphasis on stronger oversight and restoring public confidence. The working session brought together industry voices to explore how education can be aligned more directly with regulatory risk, help define readiness for practice, and reinforce ethical decision-making throughout a registrant’s career.

Education as consumer protection, not a checkbox

The most important shift brought forward is the goal of moving education from a basic requirement to a system that reduces risk before harm occurs. For consumers, real estate is one of the biggest financial decisions they will make. Trust in the transaction depends on professionalism, ethical judgment, and consistent competence, not just rules on paper. 

That is why a risk-responsive approach to education matters. When education is aligned to areas where consumers are most vulnerable, it can function as a proactive safeguard. It can also serve as a corrective tool when patterns of non-compliance emerge. In other words, education becomes part of how the regulator reduces harm, not just how registrants meet a requirement.

Raising the bar from entry to experienced practice

The summit discussions reinforced an important point: professional standards are not built at one moment in time. A strong system needs clarity on what “ready for practice” means at entry, including core competencies and sound professional judgment. It also needs continuing education that reinforces ethics, decision-making, and competence across a registrant’s career, especially as market conditions, technology, and risk patterns change.

Data and innovation to improve outcomes

RECO’s focus on data, technology, and innovation is most promising when it is tied to measurable outcomes. Education works best when it is targeted and evaluated. By using data to identify risk areas and emerging issues, training can be focused where it will have the greatest impact, rather than expanding broad requirements that do not improve results. Innovation should serve a clear purpose: fewer consumer harms, stronger professional conduct, and clearer expectations.

Targeted education grounded in real-world risk, measured for effectiveness, and updated as issues emerge can strengthen consumer protection without adding unnecessary burden.

OnePoint’s perspective

OnePoint supports the direction RECO is taking and the underlying principle that education should strengthen trust in the real estate system. Education is central to OnePoint’s mandate, and our leadership participated to bring a practical, member-informed lens to the discussion.

As RECO continues this work, OnePoint will remain engaged to advocate for reforms that provide:

• Education that is practical, relevant, and tied to real transaction risk

• Stronger professional standards that are reinforced over time

• Consumer protection that starts early, not after harm occurs

• Modern oversight that keeps pace with today’s marketplace

  
  

OnePoint will continue to share updates as RECO’s education work progresses and next steps are confirmed.