Michael James Holmes (born August 3, 1963) is a Canadian builder/contractor, businessman, investor, television host, and philanthropist. In his first television series, ''

Holmes on Homes ''Holmes on Homes'' is a Canadian television series featuring general contractor Mike Holmes visiting homeowners who are in need of help, mainly due to unsatisfactory home renovations performed by hired contractors. The series originally aire ...

,'' he rescues homeowners from

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

s gone wrong. He usually discovers more serious problems, such as dangerous wiring, asbestos, mold, inadequate insulation, structural damage and more, concealed behind pristine surfaces. He and his team promise to "Make It Right," even if it means stripping a house down to its bones. He has continued in several successive TV series.

Background

Mike Holmes learned his craft from his father, who started teaching him construction work when he was 6 years old. By the time he was 19, Holmes had started his first contracting company with a crew of 13 employees. At 21, Holmes founded his own renovation company. He has run two companies during his 20-year contracting career. He has three children: Amanda, Sherry, and Mike Jr., who have all appeared and worked on his shows. In 2006, Holmes started The Holmes Foundation after seeing a renovation that was so poorly done that he felt it was necessary for him to tear the house down and start again rather than try to repair the damage. The purpose of The Holmes Foundation is to encourage young people to enter the building trades as well as to assist those who have been impoverished by bad renovations. Holmes works with

SOS Children's Villages SOS Children's Villages is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children in need and protec ...

. In 2006, Mike Holmes was recognized in the House of Commons of Canada for his promotion of skilled trades and for his advocacy for improved building standards. He was acknowledged as an "extraordinary craftsperson" and "an accomplished master builder with a social conscience". Holmes is the author of two successful books: the national bestseller ''Home Renovation with Canada's Most Trusted Contractor'' () and ''Holmes Inspection: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy or Sell Your Home'' (), as well as a weekly newspaper column. He is the national spokesperson for Skills/Compétences Canada and for WorldSkills Calgary 2009, and is often invited to speak by professional organizations, such as the Canadian Safety Association of Ontario, the Ontario Building Inspectors Association, and the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors. In May 2010, ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his w ...

s second annual survey named Holmes as the second most widely trusted person in Canada behind David Suzuki.

Television career

HGTV Canada

Mike Holmes' first starring series was ''

'', which premiered in 2003, on

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

's HGTV Canada.

Bell Media

In June 2019,

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

announced a new development deal with Holmes, ending his relationship with HGTV Canada. His library of programming moved airing to Gusto, which was rebranded as

CTV Life Channel CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home improvement and real estate, along with scripted ...

, and two new series were announced, including '' Holmes 911'', and the '' Holmes Family Rescue'' for

CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...

in 2020.

Television series

''Holmes on Homes''

Broadcast on HGTV Canada, ''Holmes on Homes'' first started in 2001. ''Holmes on Homes'' was first conceived when Holmes approached the producers of the '' Just Ask Jon Eakes'' home improvement show on HGTV with the idea for a new kind of home improvement show. Although there were few submissions to the show initially, their number had ballooned by the fourth season. In one fourth-season episode, Holmes stated that he received hundreds of e-mails a week from people asking him for help. As the show evolved, it generally focused on bad

s and the results of bad contractors. In Canada, ''Holmes on Homes'' airs on HGTV Canada, BBC Canada, and Casa for the French version. It airs in the US on

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, ...

and

DIY Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, renovation, and cuisine. The channel ...

, in New Zealand on The Living Channel, in Australia on Lifestyle Home, in the United Kingdom on Discovery Shed (formerly Discovery Real Time), in Germany on DMAX, and in South Africa on the Home Channel.

''Holmes in New Orleans''

Between the end of ''Holmes on Homes'' and the start of ''Holmes Inspection'', Mike Holmes starred in a one-season series, ''

Holmes in New Orleans Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Un ...

'', on the construction of a new home in the

Lower Ninth Ward The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Indust ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Hurricane Katrina.

''Holmes Inspection''

Holmes began a new series in 2009 called ''Holmes Inspection'' that profiles home inspections gone wrong. The series started airing in fall 2009 on HGTV Canada. In the United States, the series debuted on HGTV on Sunday, December 19, 2010. Holmes inspected the houses while checking up on the construction, leaving long-time crew member Damon Bennett as the lead site manager and backup host.

''Best of Holmes on Homes''

Best of Holmes on Homes ''Holmes on Homes'' is a Canadian television series featuring general contractor Mike Holmes visiting homeowners who are in need of help, mainly due to unsatisfactory home renovations performed by hired contractors. The series originally aire ...

'' is a 2012 remix TV series featuring clips from ''Holmes on Homes'', brought together on a common theme, to illustrate home problems. Holmes narrates the show.

''Holmes Makes It Right''

Holmes started a new series for 2012 called '' Holmes Makes It Right'', that profiles disaster-stricken homes, and renovates them. The series focuses on natural disasters and bad home inspections or bad contractor work. The name of the series revolves around Holmes's personal motto, "Make It Right". While Holmes visited the construction sites, he had long-time crew member Damon Bennett in charge and mostly hosting.

''Mike's Ultimate Garage''

For the fall 2014 TV season, ''

Mike's Ultimate Garage Mikes may refer to: * MIKES, Centre for Metrology and Accreditation, Finland, a research organisation * Mikes (restaurant), a chain of Italian restaurants * Mikes (surname), a surname * Mikes, the Hungarian name for Miceşti village, Tureni Commu ...

'', a mini-series about building a man-cave garage for Holmes Sr. (Big Mike) by son Mike Holmes Jr. and daughter Sherry Holmes aired on HGTV Canada. Holmes Sr. guest stars in the series, while it starred Mike Jr. as the construction lead and Sherry.

''Holmes and Holmes''

For the fall 2016 TV season, '' Holmes and Holmes'' premiered. In this series, Holmes stars with his son Mike Jr. The show premiered on HGTV Canada, produced by Make It Right Productions. Now in its third season, ''Holmes and Holmes'' aired on the DIY Network (USA) in October 2019.

''Holmes: Buy It Right''

For the fall 2016 TV season, '' Holmes: Buy It Right'' premiered. In this series Holmes stars as an advisor to new home buyers, showing them how to choose a house. The series premiered on

(USA).

''Holmes: Next Generation''

''Holmes: Next Generation'' premiered in April 2018 on

(USA). Mike Holmes assists two of his children, Mike Holmes Jr. and Sherry Holmes, as they take on remodelling projects.

''Holmes Makes It Right: Retooled''

''Retooled'' premiered during the spring 2019 TV season on

(USA), where Holmes revisits ''Holmes Makes It Right'' (2012) episodes that have been "retooled", and examines construction issues.

''Holmes 911''

''HOLMES 911'' premiered on September 17, 2019 on CTV Life, in which Holmes returns and examines the results of unscrupulous contractors, unhealthy homes, and DIY projects gone wrong and is joined by his son Mike Jr. and daughter Sherry. Over 12 one-hour episodes, the Holmes family takes on five different houses, and repairs them.

''Holmes Family Effect''

'' Holmes Family Effect'' premiered in Canada on February 7, 2021, right after

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Confer ...

. The series debuted a month later in the United States on March 16 on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

. It features Mike Holmes, his daughter Sherry and his son Mike Jr. helping homeowners, schools and businesses in need of improvement. They work to overhaul not only houses, but commercial and public buildings.

''Holmes Family Rescue''

'' Holmes Family Rescue'' premiered in Canada and the US on December 4, 2021 on HGTV and later on CTV Life. It features Mike Holmes, his daughter Sherry and his son Mike Jr. helping homeowners who have had improperly done construction work on their homes.

TV judging and hosting

''Handyman Challenge'' franchise

Holmes was a judge on all seasons of ''

Handyman Superstar Challenge ''Handyman Superstar Challenge'' (also referred to as ''Superstar Handyman Challenge'' from the show's first season logo) is a television game show on HGTV Canada, hosted by Karen Bertelsen. The show seeks to find the best handyman in Canada, wit ...

''. He was also a judge on ''

All American Handyman ''All American Handyman'' is a HGTV reality competition show between a group of handymen and women. The show is hosted Molly Culver, and judged by Mike Holmes and Scott McGillivray. It is a spin-off of ''Handyman Superstar Challenge'', with simil ...

''. He was a judge on season 1 of ''

Canada's Handyman Challenge ''Canada's Handyman Challenge'' is a Canadian reality game show. The series premiered on January 10, 2012, on HGTV Canada. ''Canada's Handyman Challenge'' is the successor to HGTV's previous series, ''Handyman Superstar Challenge'', similar in f ...

''.

''Home Free''

In late April 2015, Fox announced a new eight episode Holmes-hosted show entitled ''Home Free,'' which premiered on July 22. The show featured nine couples who spend each week renovating a different dilapidated home. At the end of the week, the couple with the worst handiwork is eliminated, until the final two teams compete for a prize home. Unknown to the contestants as they were competing, each eliminated couple was awarded the home that they were working on in the episode they were eliminated in. Eight-episode unscripted competition series ''Home Free'' premiered July 22, 2015 on Fox. "A home is way more than brick and mortar," says ''Home Free'' host Mike Holmes. "So being part of this new series and partnering with Fox is truly exciting for me. I'm ready to break ground with these couples." ('' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'').

Guest appearances

Holmes was a guest builder on '' Home to Win''. Guest builders designed and built a room of a renovated home that would be won by a Canadian family selected by the show's producers from submitted entries. Holmes has been a guest on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...

'' twice during a season 4 episode in December 2006. The first instance led to a two part episode on ''Holmes on Homes''. He helped the Tiu family who bought a new house, a

bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single- story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as ...

, in the Los Angeles area which he had to fix a shoddy renovation left by a clueless contractor. The second guest spot was to show Ellen the completed construction of the Tiu's newly renovation house, which Holmes, his crew and local contractors worked together to finish the project. Holmes also made a guest appearance on an episode of the Canadian series '' Corner Gas'' as Wanda's ex-boyfriend. In October 2019, Holmes made an appearance on

's renovation competition series '' Rock the Block'' when he was a guest judge for one of the projects. For the series' second season in March 2021, Holmes was one of the contestants. He teamed up with designer

Alison Victoria ''Windy City Rehab'' is an American television series on HGTV based in Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = ...

of '' Windy City Rehab'' whom he judged in season one. She says, "I'm a designer and ike'sa genius in the build. It's a partnership like no other." In July 2021, Holmes was a guest judge alongside Mina Starsiak of '' Good Bones'' on the

renovation competition series '' Battle on the Beach'', where contestants team up with a star designer to battle it out renovating their outdated beach houses in

Gulf Shores, Alabama Gulf Shores is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 9,741. Geography Gulf Shores is located on the Gulf of Mexico at 30°16'4.069" North, 87°42'5.285" West (30.267797, −87. ...

Business activities

The Holmes Group

The Holmes Group is the conglomerate and holding company for Mike Holmes' companies.

Mike Holmes Protection

In 2021 Holmes launched Mike Holmes Protection to offer Home Services Contract to help homeowners protect their homes against the normal wear and tear on the systems and appliances in their homes. The company is based in Boca Raton, Fl and services over 30 states.

Mike Holmes Inspections

In 2009 Holmes launched Mike Holmes Inspections, a residential home inspection company based in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia.

Holmes Approved Homes

Holmes has partnered with several home builders and renovators in Canada and the United States to develop the Holmes Approved Homes program. The goal of the program is to raise the bar for home building above minimum industry standards. Each home is inspected by Mike Holmes Inspections several times during the building process. A lawsuit was filed in December 2021 by Tarion, a consumer protection organization established by the Ontario government to help ensure new homes' defects under warranty are repaired, due to several homes built with partner companies that had numerous defects, in Meaford, Ontario.

Mike Holmes Approved Products

Holmes has licensed his name and logo for various products, including tools, appliances and work clothes in his Holmes Approved Products.

Make It Right Productions

Make It Right Productions is Holmes's television production company. It has had a hand in the production of his renovations shows.

Other activities

His company is developing ''"Wind Walk"'', the first Holmes Community, in southwest

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, a community of eco-friendly and sustainable homes with high standards for residential construction and design. Several magazines with Mike Holmes' brand and image have appeared on newsstands. ''Holmes: The Magazine to Make It Right'' ran for two years, and ended after a dispute between the publisher Dauphin Media Group and the Holmes Group. It had run from 2009 to 2011. ''Make it Right'' magazine, a collaboration between publisher TC Media and the Holmes Group was published in 2013.

Endeavors

Holmes Foundation

Mike Holmes founded the

Holmes Foundation The Holmes Foundation is a foundation created by Canadian residential contractor and television show host Mike Holmes in 2006, intended to promote skilled trades in youth. Annually, the Holmes Foundation awards up to twenty scholarships and bursa ...

to improve the education of tradespeople, to prevent shoddy work from lack of knowledge. The foundation grants scholarships and bursaries to students in residential construction studies.

Awards and accolades

*2004

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

: Viewers' Choice Award *February 21, 2008 Holmes was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main campus in B ...

(BCIT). *2009 Gemini Awards: Holmes in New Orleans: Best Lifestyle/Practical Information Series *June 18, 2012: The

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

*December 2013: Holmes was appointed as a Patron of

The Royal Canadian Regiment , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = Maple Leaf (2nd Bn pipes and drums) , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = The RCR , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , mar ...

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

Make It Right
from The Holmes Group
Holmes Makes it Right
Official HGTV Show Site

*
Video Interview With Mike Holmes for AOL Television
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Mike 1963 births Living people Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian builders Canadian business writers Canadian construction businesspeople Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian philanthropists Canadian television hosts Participants in Canadian reality television series People from Halton Hills The Holmes Group