The name “Rent-a-Wife” was chosen, in 1980, by our mother and feminist, Judith Blackman following an epiphany. She purposely wanted to reflect the “incalculable value” that women give to the home. Judith’s belief, in those days was that the work women did in the home was undervalued and underpaid; she wanted to elevate the tasks of the “homemaker” and legitimize the work performed to that of a salaried position, lending dignity, rather than degradation to housework. The “vision” of Ms. Blackman, was to provide a service, by women for women, to cook, clean, shop, organize moves, do minor repairs and walk the kids home from school for a fee.

Having wholeheartedly embraced our mother’s feminist vision during the course of our nearly 40-year career in the home services business in Ottawa and Toronto, we are grateful for all the support given to our mission of delivering services inside the home, thus freeing up the consumer to engage in their own pursuits.

While the tongue-in-cheek use of the name “Rent-a-Wife” has garnered much public attention over the years, we are proud to say that we have a solid base of satisfied and loyal clients that recognize the value of our services that address cleaning and organizational requirements in a timely manner.

We believe that “Every working person needs a wife” and that is supported by years of positive and grateful feedback from a broad range of customers. Our goal has always been to provide services for the betterment of the consumer and those of us that deliver those services.

Kris Blackman – Rent-A-Wife Toronto (owner since 1980)
Laurel Blackman – Rent-A-Wife Ottawa (owner since 1987)