Audrey Rodrigue, a residential real estate broker with Royal LePage Altitude. Photo courtesy of Audrey Rodrigue.
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Audrey Rodrigue’s real estate work has brought her back to familiar ground in Bromont, Orford and the Eastern Townships — a region she has known since childhood through family ties and, especially, years spent at Quebec Lodge.
Now a residential real estate broker with Royal LePage Altitude, Rodrigue works in both the Townships and the Montreal area. She said the pace and character of real estate transactions in places such as Bromont and Orford stand apart from what she encounters closer to the city.
For Rodrigue, though, working in the region is about more than the market.
Originally from Vancouver, she moved to Quebec when she was about five or six. Her mother is Québécoise, and Rodrigue developed connections to the Orford area while growing up.
Quebec Lodge became an especially important part of those years.
Rodrigue said her family initially discovered QL through financial assistance that helped make it possible for her and her siblings to attend camp.
As her mother’s financial situation improved, that assistance was no longer available. The family nevertheless continued returning.
“We were still going to QL because it was like an ingrained part of us,” Rodrigue said.
Her brothers and sisters were involved as well, including in sailing, while Rodrigue eventually became a program director.
That connection left Quebec Lodge — and the Eastern Townships more broadly — as a continuing part of her life long before real estate brought her back professionally.
Real estate was not Rodrigue’s original career plan.
She previously worked in daycare, education and teaching, including as a daycare director.
Her path changed while her spouse, a general contractor, was buying and selling properties. The couple also tried property flipping, introducing Rodrigue to another side of the housing business.
She decided to take the course required to enter real estate.
Although she initially imagined she might eventually handle transactions connected to her partner’s properties, Rodrigue said that was not how her career developed. Instead, she built her own business after completing her training.
Her promotional material identifies her as a residential real estate broker with Royal LePage Altitude and lists a Royal LePage “Palme d’Or du Président” award for 2024 and “Maître Vendeur” recognition for 2025.
Asked how real estate in Bromont and Orford compares with the South Shore of Montreal, Rodrigue said the difference goes beyond the properties themselves.
“It’s a lot different,” she said.
Rodrigue described interactions in the Townships as having a slower pace, something she said she appreciates.
A recent Bromont condominium transaction involved an older couple moving to be closer to family. For Rodrigue, the circumstances surrounding that sale reflected something she often appreciates about working in the region: decisions connected closely with family and lifestyle.
She also described helping with another home purchase involving someone connected to the outdoors industry who was preparing to open a bicycle shop.
Rodrigue said those experiences have given her the impression of a more personal, family-oriented environment. She described it as a more “human” and slower-paced approach.
One of Rodrigue’s most memorable deals was also her first transaction.
The Bromont property sold for more than $1.5 million.
Rodrigue was still in her first year in real estate when she became involved with buyers from Montreal looking at the property.
The home sat on approximately five acres and offered more than 4,000 square feet of space.
Rodrigue recalled the buyers being struck by the property when they first walked inside.
It also presented some unusual considerations. She described heated flooring in the basement and a property relying heavily on wood-burning heat rather than a conventional whole-home heating system.
Those features created challenges, she said, but the size, setting and character of the property also made it an exciting transaction to handle so early in her career.
For young Townshippers considering becoming real estate brokers themselves, Rodrigue’s advice begins with having realistic expectations.
She said popular television programs can give people a distorted idea of what the job actually involves.
“The reality is so far from those TV shows,” Rodrigue said. “It is really hard, it’s super competitive.”
She recalled finding the beginning of her own career discouraging as she adjusted to the difference between the public image of the profession and its day-to-day reality.
Her biggest advice is to avoid trying to imitate another broker.
“Be true to yourself and be honest,” Rodrigue said.
She believes authenticity ultimately helps brokers build relationships with clients who are a good fit for them.
“You’re going to attract the clients that you want to attract by being who you are,” she said.
That approach also reflects what Rodrigue says she enjoys about returning professionally to the Eastern Townships: relationships that can feel more personal, transactions often shaped by family and lifestyle, and a region that was already part of her life years before she entered real estate.
From her childhood years at Quebec Lodge to million-dollar transactions in Bromont, Rodrigue’s Townships connection has followed an unusual path — from camper, to program director, to broker.
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