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By Teena Monteleone

Looking for love

Prairie singles turning to professional matchmakers

Feb 12, 2025 | 4:00 PM

It appears people on the Prairies are getting tired of aimlessly swiping on dating apps.

As Valentine’s Day looms, one professional matchmaker says 2024 was the busiest year in the company’s 30-year history thanks to clients in Saskatchewan and Manitoba leaving their search for love to the expert.

“People aren’t going to invest the money in a matchmaker if their objective isn’t love,” Lianne Tregobov, president of Camelot Introductions said.

Tregobov bills herself as an ‘old fashioned’ matchmaker who uses her ‘very, very keen and well-honed intuition’ to introduce her 1,500 clients to one person at a time after handpicking them herself and she’s had a lot of success doing it.

“The eldest of my clients to get married through me was 92 and boy, oh boy, he died with a smile on his face,” she said.

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The people who use her service vary from baby boomers to successful Prairie farmers who have been too busy to cultivate a connection on their own.

Lianne Tregobov is a matchmaker and the president of Camelot Introductions. (Submitted photo)

Regardless of the age and background, Tregobov said a good matchmaker screens all of their clients and eliminates those who have ill intentions. She said it’s all about alignment, not algorithms.

“Anyone can pretend to be anybody when they’re online, and often the beautiful woman that a guy thinks he’s talking to is actually Boris sitting behind his computer laughing all the way to the bank,” Tregobov said, citing incidents where people looking for love have been duped by online fraudsters.

“Recently, I had two girls join independently and both of them were scammed, stalked and terrorized by the same man, and when we checked we found out he had all sorts of protection orders against him.”

That’s why Tregobov’s clients all go through a vetting process; Each one is interviewed in person, has their age and identities verified, has a criminal record check and must be non-smokers.

While online dating has helped more people connect than ever before, Tregobov said the quality of connections is often shallow and fleeting and that’s leading more of her Prairie clients to look for a more personalized approach to finding love through a matchmaker.

“A lot of people now, unfortunately, are so quick to say no because they’re able to just swipe. When you’re working with a good matchmaker, there’s accountability, people are treated with dignity and respect… there’s no ghosting and there’s no swiping. I actually don’t present pictures typically until the couple starts to talk.”

While matchmaking can help you get in the door, Tregobov said it’s completely up to the clients to make their relationship work once they get there. She had a little advice for anyone entering the dating pool this Valentine’s Day, specifically when it came to avoiding ‘the ick’ or triggers for sudden turn-offs like finding someone’s laugh annoying, sniffing loudly or having long fingernails.

“Instead, focus on choosing five things about the person that are interesting and intriguing. Get to know them. Fingernails can be cut… and this may be the love of your life.”

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com