2710 Nottawasaga 10 Concession N, Clearview, Ont.
Asking price: $3,975,000
Lot size: 290 by 300 feet
Property Taxes: $14,046 (2026)
Listing agents: Mark Veer, Mary Riopelle, Re/Max Four Seasons Realty Limited
The backstory
In most families, what your home is like plays a big role in defining who you are and what you want as you get older. Sometimes, a second home (or a third) can play that same role.
For Canadian business veteran Joe Canavan, family is a foundational motivation. When he was building Fidelity Investment Canada in the 1990s and at other stops in his career, he says he has been driven by a commitment to helping Canadians build wealth since money is so often at the root of what breaks up families. When you build wealth, you reinvest in family.
Which is why it was an easy decision for him to build a ski chalet near Osler Bluff Ski Club in Collingwood, Ont. “That chalet was really built for our boys,” he said, referring to his three sons who have had almost unfettered access to skiing over the last 16 years. “Our family bonds are so much stronger, so much better because of our affiliation with the club.”
He was also driven by the role sports played in his own life and career.
“Playing hockey and football at a high level made me very competitive; that changed my character, my nature,” said Mr. Canavan. “I was never the most gifted athlete, but I was usually the captain of my team. My job was to be the guy who brought people together.” He’s been a CEO seven times over his career in finance and philanthropy, and still credits many of those lessons and experiences for his approach.
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It was friend and former National Hockey League Players’ Association boss Bob Goodenow who told him not to put the boys in hockey, which was his inclination.
“He essentially forbid me from putting my boys in hockey; he said our chances of having a boy in the NHL is 0.02 per cent. Goodenow said we should look at ski clubs. My wife Larissa, she was elated: she didn’t want to sit in hockey arenas all winter,” said Mr. Canavan.
So the boys began training for ski racing from a young age, and after a few years of renting chalet’s for the winter near Osler, Mr. Canavan found a two-acre site next to the Osler Brook Golf course and began construction in 2008 on the estate home now called Winterbrook. The design had a bit of everything the family wanted in a country getaway and at-home training facility: a full gym, boot and equipment room, hot tub, steam room and cold plunge tub (not to mention heated garage, which is a great perk when you’re running out to the lift on a cold morning) all of which reduces the friction to and from the slopes.
Mr. Canavan is proud of their accomplishments; his middle son was asked to join Canada’s national team (he declined, and has made a mark in Ironman competitions instead) and his youngest has coached in the sport. But they are grown up now, either in university or finished their degrees, and a full-season skiing hub isn’t as necessary for the family now.
The house today
Mr. Canavan said he and his wife were inspired by Belgian country homes featuring lots of stone and white oak for the motif of their chalet. Working with custom-builder Dalton Beachli, they came up with a series of spaces that emphasize natural materials and a connection with the landscape.
The front porch portico is made from big, chunky beams of Douglas fir from British Columbia, and those huge beams are used for structure and emphasis as you enter the main floor.
This central section of the house is a massive volume of space that’s open to the vaulted second-floor ceiling that is clad in Douglas fir. Directly across from the front foyer is a two-storey tall bank of windows that fill the great room with light and look out toward the golf course.
On the left from the foyer is a set of stairs (more chunky beams) that climb to a loft/bridge that connects the wings on the second level, and also descends to the partially above-grade basement. Passing under the bridge the great room opens up, with the wall on the right dominated by a chimney of mixed cut and raw stone, and to the left an entrance to the kitchen and dining area.
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The kitchen is built around a long stone-topped island prep space with induction cooktop built in, with an equally long dining space alongside it, all under more of the chunky wood beams and cladding. At the far end of the room is a set of double doors to a side patio with a built-in fire pit.
Back through the main room, the other wing of the house features a wood-panelled library/office, main-floor powder room, a large laundry room and the equipment rooms and garage access.
On the second level the primary suite is an airy space above the kitchen and its ensuite bathroom features double-sized walk-in shower, dual vanity and soaker tub. Three bedrooms for the boys and a shared bathroom fill the wing above the garage.
The basement rec room features another distinctive fireplace with huge stone slabs, and in addition to the gym on this lower level there are two guest suites (or nanny suites) and a full bath.
Fire when ready
There are four fireplaces in the home, if you include the outdoor firepit, no accident since Mr. Canavan is a self-proclaimed fire fanatic.
“I wanted fire everywhere because my parents at home we didn’t have anything like that,” said Mr. Canavan, who shared that while his parents provided for the family, they were both new Canadians and often worked two jobs. When his career in finance began to take off, Mr. Canavan felt compelled as the oldest child to help support his parents.
“I bought my first cottage when I was 25, one of the reasons that place won out over other places, the beautiful stone fireplace, it was stunning and the centre of the home,” he said, and the effect this space had on his parents was profound. “I used to see my mother and father nattering at each other in the city but as soon as they went north of the 401 they were like lovebirds … it was crazy.”
He eventually gave that first cottage to his parents, and the gift he continues to give himself is spaces designed for his family to bond and connect. They host all the Thanksgivings and Christmases, the big anniversaries and birthdays. They never intended to sell this home, but the plan is to reconstruct a more modest version of it nearby.
When Mr. Canavan is at Winterbrook, he likes to start his day in that first-floor study, turn on the fireplace and get his morning reading done. If the kids are up for a ski run he’ll put together breakfast before they head out. When the day is done, winding down in the great room with the landscape shining through the windows and a fire roaring in the large fireplace is his idea of being at home.