The next home shows in the Toronto area are the GTA Home Show (January 29–31, 2027, International Centre, Mississauga) and the National Home Show (March 5–14, 2027, Enercare Centre, Toronto). Below you’ll find hours, ticket prices, every legitimate way we found to pay less, parking and transit for both venues, and an honest answer to the question people keep asking online: is it worth going?
Swipe the table to compare all columns →
| GTA Home Show | National Home Show | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Fri Jan 29 – Sun Jan 31, 2027 | Fri Mar 5 – Sun Mar 14, 2027 (10 days) |
| Where | The International Centre, Hall 2, 6900 Airport Rd, Mississauga | Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, 100 Princes’ Blvd, Toronto |
| Hours | Fri 11–7 · Sat 10–7 · Sun 10–5 | Weekdays 11–7 · Sat 10–7 · Sun 10–5 |
| Tickets | $15 + HST · seniors $13 · youth (13–17) $13 · 12 and under free | $20 + HST · seniors $17 · youth (13–17) $16 · 12 and under free |
| Size | 200+ exhibitors | 500+ vendors and experts |
| Plan to stay | 2–4 hours | 3–5 hours |
| Parking | Free | Paid City lots (dynamic rates) |
From the organizer’s official pages (torontohomeshows.com), checked October 6, 2026. Details can change; confirm before you go. The 2026 Fall Home Show ran October 2–4; 2027 fall dates aren’t announced yet.
Planning a renovation in 2027? Capable will be at the National Home Show, March 5–14. Bring photos and plans to talk through what you want to change and the next step for your project. See how to prepare for a conversation with us.
Is the home show worth it?
Ask in Toronto forums and you’ll hear the same two things: “not worth buying a ticket” unless you get one free, and “good for ideas.” Both are fair. A home show is a sales floor. Next to renovators and builders you’ll walk past hot tubs, massage chairs, kitchen gadgets and plenty of booths offering deals that end on Sunday.
We exhibit at these shows, and our honest view is this: it’s worth it if you’re planning a real project in the next 12 months and you go prepared. In one afternoon you can see materials in person, sit in a free design consultation and talk to several renovators face to face, which takes weeks to arrange any other way. It’s not worth it as a paid day out with no plan. Go with photos of your space, a short list of booths and the questions in this guide, and pay as little as possible to get in.
Tickets: prices and how to pay less
2027 prices from the official site: the National Home Show is $20 + HST for adults, $17 + HST for seniors (65+), $16 + HST for youth (13–17), and free for children 12 and under. The GTA Home Show is $15 + HST, $13 + HST for seniors and youth, and free for children 12 and under.
Legitimate ways to pay less, and how current each one is:
- Ask a real estate agent. The National Home Show is presented by RE/MAX, and RE/MAX runs a ticket program for its agents; the RE/MAX blog tells readers to “reach out to your REMAX agents for the complimentary tickets.” The organizer lists the agent program on its 2027 ticket page.
- Buy online, not at the door. At the 2026 Fall Home Show, tickets were $15 + HST online and $17 including HST on site. The 2027 National Home Show page doesn’t show a door price yet.
- Groups and companies. The organizer has a corporate pre-sale ticket program, and its FAQ invites groups of more than 10 to ask about discounted rates.
- Watch for the PRESTO code and the GO combo ticket. In 2026, GO Transit offered $3 off online tickets with the code PRESTO, plus a combo ticket covering the round trip to Exhibition GO Station and admission. These ran in 2026 and may or may not return in 2027.
- Daily-deal sites. WagJag sold a two-person admission deal for the 2026 show and a discount in 2024. Not confirmed for 2027.
- Alumni and member perks. Some groups publish their own codes (for example, a University of Waterloo alumni discount in 2026). Check your alumni association or employer perks.
- Exhibitor giveaways. Many exhibitors hand out free ticket codes on social media in the weeks before the show. Follow the companies you actually want to meet.
Children 12 and under are always free, and there’s no point paying full price if any of the above applies to you.
Hours and how long to stay
The National Home Show runs 10 days: weekdays 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sundays 10 a.m.–5 p.m. The organizer suggests 3–5 hours to see it. The GTA Home Show is open Friday 11–7, Saturday 10–7 and Sunday 10–5; plan 2–4 hours.
If you want real conversations with renovators, go when you have time to talk rather than squeezing it into the last hour of a Saturday. The National show’s 10-day run gives you weekday options. Saw something you want to buy but need to think? The organizer’s show office issues readmission tickets so you can come back another day.
Parking and getting there
National Home Show (Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place)
- Parking: Exhibition Place has about 5,400 spaces, including 1,300 underground, run by the City. Standard rates were $18 ($15 after 6 p.m.) when we checked, with a $3 increase on peak days, and rates are dynamic, so check before you go. Payment is through Green P. The Enercare Centre garage has complimentary EV charging.
- GO Transit: Exhibition GO Station (Lakeshore West line) is on the grounds.
- TTC: the 509 Harbourfront streetcar from Union and the 511 Bathurst from Bathurst Station go to Exhibition Loop; the 29 Dufferin bus goes to Dufferin Gate Loop. Check TTC service changes the week of the show.
- Bikes: Exhibition Place lists 732 bike racks.
In 2026 the organizer offered free underground parking on weekday afternoons after 3 p.m. during the show’s second week. Watch the show’s Instagram for a repeat.
GTA Home Show (International Centre, Mississauga)
- Parking: free at the venue.
- Transit: Malton GO Station is next to the International Centre, and a MiWay bus stop is near the main entrance on Airport Road.
What’s at the show
The 2027 Main Stage schedule is posted about three weeks before the show. To give you a sense of what to expect, the 2026 National Home Show had celebrity designers and renovation hosts on the Main Stage, free 15-minute design consultations (“Ask A Professional”), a day dedicated to laneway homes and garden suites, a Home Renovation Savings booth for energy rebates, a Healthy Aging at Home learning centre and a feature home. The organizer also publishes a vendor directory and floor map online before each show; use it to mark the companies that do your type of project.
Food on site is cashless (debit or credit). Don’t count on free tote bags; bring one if you plan to collect samples and brochures.
Before you go: 15 minutes of preparation
A renovator at a booth can only be as useful as the information you bring:
- Photos or a short video of the space, taken on your phone.
- Rough sizes: room dimensions, or a simple sketch or floor plan.
- What must stay and what must change. “Keep the layout, replace everything else” and “open the main floor” are different projects with different costs.
- A budget range and when you want to start. You don’t have to share it, but it lets you judge quickly whether a company fits.
- A short list of booths from the online vendor directory.
At a renovator’s booth: 7 questions to ask
Most booth conversations start with photos of finished rooms. Those don’t tell you how a company works. These questions do:
- “Do you do projects like mine yourselves?” Ask which parts their own team does and which parts go to sub-trades.
- “Can you show me a recent project like mine: the city, the size and how many weeks it took?” “We do everything” is not an answer.
- “Is your price a fixed, itemized quote or an estimate?” Ask what’s included and what’s left as an allowance you’ll pay for later.
- “Who handles the drawings and permits?” If the contractor gets the permits, Ontario’s guidance is to put that in the contract.
- “Are you licensed and insured?” In Toronto, renovation businesses need a City of Toronto Building Renovator licence. Ask about liability insurance and WSIB coverage.
- “Who will I talk to during the project, and how quickly do they answer?”
- “What happens after the work is finished?” Ask about the warranty and how deficiencies are handled after the final payment.
Sanity-check a show price
A common complaint about home shows is “crazy prices.” You can’t get an exact number at a booth, because a reliable quote needs someone to see the space. But you can tell whether a figure is in the normal range. Typical 2026 GTA market ranges, before HST:
Swipe the table to compare all columns →
| Project | Typical GTA range (2026 market) |
|---|---|
| Full bathroom renovation | A small bathroom can start around $9,000; most full bathrooms run $15,000–40,000 |
| Open basement finish (1,000 sq ft) | From about $40,000 |
| Basement with a bedroom and a bathroom | Most land between $55,000 and $100,000 |
| Legal basement apartment | From about $55,000 when the ceiling height and a side entrance already work |
| Whole-home renovation | From about $100 per renovated sq ft for finish-led updates; more for layout or structural changes |
| Home addition | Usually from about $350 per sq ft |
Ranges compiled from published 2026 GTA price guides. Your number depends on size, condition and finishes. See our basement cost guide and full-home renovation costs.
Show specials and signing on the spot
Show-only prices are common, often with a deadline at the end of the show. A discount is fine, but read the full written contract before you sign. In Ontario, the 10-day cooling-off period applies to agreements made in your home. The Consumer Protection Act specifically leaves out agreements made at a trade fair or exhibition, so a contract signed at a home-show booth doesn’t come with 10 days to change your mind.
Before you sign anything, check that the contract includes what Ontario’s consumer protection guidance lists: the contractor’s name and contact details; a thorough description of the work and materials; warranties; the total cost and payment terms; start and completion dates; a payment schedule including the deposit (the province recommends a deposit of no more than 10%); who cleans up; and which sub-trades will be used. If anything is missing, take the quote home.
Two protections apply either way: if the contract includes an estimate, the final price can’t go more than 10% over it unless you agree to extra work; and if the work doesn’t start within 30 days of the start date in the contract, you can cancel before work begins.
General information, not legal advice. Rules checked October 6, 2026. Ontario has passed a new Consumer Protection Act that will replace the current one on a date not yet set.
After the show: turn the flyers into a short list
- Sort the flyers the same evening. Keep the two or three renovators who answered with specifics.
- Check them away from the booth: Google and HomeStars reviews, real projects on their website, licence and insurance details.
- Book site visits. Only a renovator who has seen your space can give you a written, itemized quote.
- Compare quotes line by line, not by the total. Our renovation quote checklist shows what a complete quote covers.
- Plan backwards from your start date. A spring start means visits and quotes in winter. See how long a full-home renovation takes.
Screenshot this: your home show checklist
Swipe the table to compare all columns →
| Before | At the booth | Before signing | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free or discounted ticket plan | Projects like yours: city, size, weeks | Full written contract | Shortlist 2–3 renovators |
| Photos/video of the space | Fixed itemized quote or estimate? | Work and materials described | Check reviews, licence, insurance |
| Rough sizes or a sketch | Who does drawings and permits? | Start and completion dates | Book site visits |
| Must-stay / must-change list | Licence, insurance, WSIB | Deposit no more than 10% | Compare quotes line by line |
| Booth short list; parking or transit plan | Who will I talk to? What happens after? | Sub-trades and clean-up named | Plan the start date backwards |
Capable at the Toronto home shows: 2026 and 2027
We exhibited at the 2026 Fall Home Show this October, and most of this guide comes from being on the other side of the booth: what visitors brought with them, what they asked, and what made a conversation useful instead of a flyer handover.
Meet Capable at the National Home Show, March 5–14, 2027, Enercare Centre. Our booth number will be added here when confirmed.
Bring photos of your space, a floor plan or rough measurements if you have them, and a short list of what needs to change. We can talk through the proposed scope and what we need to check before preparing a written quote. You’ll have a clearer basis for the next project discussion or a site visit.
We’re a GTA design-build renovation company with 25 years of experience. Full-home renovations are the core of our work, and our designers and trades work as one team, from the first 3D design to the final walkthrough.
To discuss your renovation or arrange a conversation at the show, WhatsApp Yan at 647-704-9908 with your project, city and rough timing. If you’re planning to visit the show, include the day you’re considering.
Can’t make the show? Every project starts the same way anyway: a free estimate visit, a free 3D design, and a fixed, itemized quote in writing that you can take home and compare with any other. See our renovation case studies or start with full-home renovation in Toronto.
Quick answers
When is the next home show in Toronto?
The GTA Home Show runs January 29–31, 2027 at the International Centre in Mississauga. The National Home Show runs March 5–14, 2027 at the Enercare Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto.
How much are National Home Show tickets?
$20 + HST for adults, $17 + HST for seniors, $16 + HST for youth (13–17), and free for children 12 and under.
How can I get free tickets to the National Home Show?
The most common route is a real estate agent: RE/MAX, the show’s presenting sponsor, runs a ticket program for its agents. Exhibitors also give away codes on social media before the show, and children 12 and under are always free.
Is parking free at the National Home Show?
No. Exhibition Place parking is run by the City at posted, dynamic rates. Parking is free at the GTA Home Show (International Centre, Mississauga). By transit, Exhibition GO Station is on the grounds.
How long does it take to see the National Home Show?
The organizer suggests 3–5 hours. Allow extra time if you plan to sit in a free design consultation or a Main Stage talk.
Is there food at the home show?
Yes. Concessions are cashless, so bring a debit or credit card.
Can I cancel a renovation contract I signed at a home show?
Not simply because you changed your mind. Ontario’s 10-day cooling-off period doesn’t apply to agreements made at a trade fair or exhibition. Read the full contract before you sign.
Sources (checked October 6, 2026): National Home Show, show info, ticket programs and FAQ; GTA Home Show; Fall Home Show info; RE/MAX blog; GO Transit National Home Show offer (2026); Blue Ant Media, Feb 24, 2026; Exhibition Place: getting here; International Centre: location; Ontario Consumer Protection Act, 2002; Ontario: your rights when starting home renovations; City of Toronto: building renovators.
