Métis-Cree woman wins $3.2M dream home lottery
Tanya Lalonde says the last few days have felt surreal. Last week, the Métis-Cree mom of three was announced as the winner of the $3.2 million CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery — winning a fully furnished home in Ottawa.
The annual lottery supports the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. This year's grand prize included a home in the Manotick area, built by Minto Communities, and $100,000 in cash.
"It just feels like an extraordinary event, like an extraordinary blessing," said Lalonde, who lives in Gatineau, Que., with her husband and children.
She said winning felt extra special as an intergenerational survivor of residential schools and as someone who grew up in the child welfare system, bouncing between many different homes. Lalonde's family is from Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement and Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta, but she grew up in care since the age of two.
"To be someone who grew up the way that I did and having this blessing is just really unexpected. I'm so, so grateful," she said.
The lottery is a significant fundraising initiative for CHEO, with proceeds used to purchase equipment, conduct research, support programs at the hospital.
"We are grateful to our sponsors, trades and suppliers who have participated in making this lottery so successful," said Steve Read, president and chief executive officer with the CHEO Foundation, in a statement.
"And most of all, we want to say thank you to our generous community. By purchasing tickets, you are directly making a difference in the lives of the children, youth and families who rely on CHEO."
In addition to the house and money, the prize comes with bi-weekly cleaning for a year, a 2023 Mustang Mach-E, gift certificates for gas and groceries, and moving services.
The home built by Minto Communities - named the Equestrian - has a four-bedroom floor plan over 4,300 square feet. (Submitted by CHEO)
Lalonde and her family got a first look at their new home last week.
"It's just amazing. We get this beautiful home and all of this help for the first year. It just came at a perfect time," she said.
Lalonde works as an advisor at the University of Ottawa's office of Indigenous affairs and co-ordinator of the Mashkawazìwogamig Indigenous Resource Centre but is currently on leave to pursue a master's degree in social work at McGill University in Montreal. She commutes between cities to attend classes in-person.
"What's funny is that the night before, we had hit a deer with our van, and so it's all broken in the front," she said.
"And we were thinking, you know, with us living on one income and me going to school, it was like, how are we going to afford a new car?"
She hopes to become a trauma-informed therapist and also to "share my story and hopefully inspire other people as well to follow their dreams."
She said she would like to use some of her winnings to support the Indigenous community in Ottawa.
"I think one of our values as Indigenous people is generosity and kindness, so we are really excited to be able to support our community as well with this win," said Lalonde.
