Gregor Robertson, Canada’s new housing minister, was likely tapped on the basis of his decade as Vancouver’s mayor, where he introduced

Those moves nudged supply but fell short: housing designed specifically for renting trickled in slowly and the city’s homeless count hit a

Robertson once blamed the housing shortfall on tight-fisted provincial and federal budgets. Now that he controls part of that money, he can test his claim. He can plug a hole his municipal toolkit never could by being, as he vowed in 2018, , and by coupling fresh federal dollars with legal protections that empower tenants to bargain collectively.

The urgency is clear: of Canadians rent, yet tenant unions,

This absence of statutory protection for tenants is often treated as a policy oversight. By withholding legal recognition, lawmakers preserve a model that allows landlords to negotiate from a position of structural dominance as tenants confront systemic harms — rent hikes, unsafe conditions and evictions — all on their own.

Canada’s rental ‘crisis’

Soaring rents and evictions have been described as a temporary

But researchers at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives counter that the market is not broken; it works exactly as designed. Calling it a crisis justifies fixes — most often lower interest rates that lure , according to Canadian policy scholar Ricardo Tranjan in his book The Tenant Class.

The results are structural, not temporary: median national rent for a and on shelter. That’s the .

Since the 1990s, the CMHC has replaced public construction with mortgage-insurance programs that flood markets with credit, Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s choice of Robertson as housing minister has advanced a familiar GST rebates for first-time buyers.

When asked whether housing prices should fall, arguing that wages will eventually catch up — an adjustment economists project would take even if prices stopped rising today.

Expanding credit under these conditions is more likely to trading a housing emergency for an indebtedness emergency.

Collective action without collective rights

���Գٲ�������’s typifies Canada’s token approach to renter power. It affirms tenants’ right to form associations but, in the very next clause, excuses landlords from any obligation to meet or negotiate with them. The result is performative legality: tenants can speak but landlords are free to ignore them.

The chilling effect resembles pre-industrial labour markets, where organizing invited dismissal. Recent history confirms the weakness.

In 2023, the tenants of 33 King Street in northwest Toronto mounted a five-month rent strike and won partial rollbacks, but the tribunal still refused to recognize their union; By settling disputes that way, the system drains collective power and drags cases through attritional timelines that encourage capitulation.

Canada confronted a parallel power imbalance during industrialization. Early 20th-century governments criminalized picketing and blacklisted organizers. The upheavals of the Great Depression forced Ottawa to adopt the and

Those statutes codified three enduring principles:

1. Workers may unionize free from employer interference;
2. Employers must bargain in good faith with a certified union;
3. Violations trigger meaningful remedies, including reinstatement and damages.

Legislators acted not from moral awakening, but to temper exploitation and preserve social stability.

Housing now mirrors that earlier asymmetry: corporate landlords command capital, legal expertise and mobility, while tenants have none of that power. Extending labour-style protections to tenant unions would simply apply a proven formula to rental housing.

Counter-arguments

Landlord associations often voice four main objections to statutory tenant-union rights: the anticipated administrative burden, the spectre of disinvestment, purported constitutional limits and a moral claim that responsible owners don’t need to be legally compelled to act in good faith.

Labour history suggests these concerns are overstated.

reputable employers already paid decent wages and offered sick leave before such standards were legislated. Regulation merely imposed a baseline on those profiting from exploitation.

In housing, conscientious landlords who maintain units, honour rent control and eschew predatory fees wouldn’t require mandatory bargaining or anti-retaliation clauses. But those enriching themselves through vacancy decontrol, or steep rent hikes would. Their resistance to tenant protections underscores their necessity.

Empirical evidence further weakens objections.

First, administrative overload is improbable: and the system would work the same in landlord-tenant tribunals.

Second, claims that stronger tenant rights deter investment clash with comparative experience. In Vienna, where nearly half of all dwellings fall under tenant councils wielding union-like powers and stringent rent regulation, construction activity remains

Third, constitutional concerns are overstated. Although landlord–tenant law is chiefly provincial, the federal government already shapes rental markets through CMHC insurance, targeted tax expenditures and the which recognizes adequate housing as a human right.

Ottawa could condition financing on tenant-union recognition or incentivize provinces to harmonize standards, echoing its mid-20th century push for uniform labour legislation.

Historical precedent and evidence across the country make clear that formalizing tenant-union protections is constitutional, would streamline dispute resolution and sustain construction — substantially benefiting the one-third of Canadians who rent without destabilizing the housing market.

Collective rights for collective problems

To make housing genuinely affordable, Robertson must see Canada’s rental sector not as a malfunctioning “crisis” but as a lucrative system of organized inequality.

Legislators once recognized that individual workers could not bargain fairly with industrial adversaries and created the collective-bargaining framework that undergirds labour relations today. Housing demands the same logic.

Tenant unions already operate in neighbourhoods such as , and . But without legal status, landlords can simply ignore them.

Federal legislation could correct this imbalance. Automatic certification would follow when a simple majority of tenants in a building sign membership cards, triggering a duty for landlords to bargain in good faith over rent increases, maintenance schedules, security of tenure and essential services.

Anti-retaliation clauses would bar eviction or harassment of organizing tenants, with remedies mirroring labour law: reinstatement, damages and arbitration to deter stalling.

Negotiated standards could be applied across neighbourhoods while still allowing investors reasonable but socially responsible returns.

Granting labour-style protections to tenant unions is hardly radical; it simply extends a principle Canada embraced nearly a century ago: collective problems require collective rights.

Renters cannot wait for market forces to self-correct. Recognizing and regulating tenant unions is the most direct route to balancing power, safeguarding homes and treating housing as a human right rather than an asset class.

By PhD Student , Political Science, 91��ɫ, and PhD Candidate , Political Economy, Queen's University

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Co-host of world’s largest conference on youth homelessness prevention says number one reason for homelessness is a lack of affordable housing; addressing family conflict key for adolescents

TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2025 – 91��ɫ Faculty of Education professor , also president of the , says after decades of research and advocacy work, homelessness prevention is no longer being treated as a “dirty word” by the policy makers, government agencies and not-for-profits he talks to.

The concept of prevention – basic on the surface, but previously met with so much resistance – seems to finally be having its moment, says Gaetz, perhaps in part because the problem has become impossible to ignore.

“Homelessness is on people's minds. The growth in the numbers in Toronto and across Canada and the rise in encampments make homelessness highly visible, and while what we are advocating for hasn’t changed, the resistance to these ideas certainly has,” says Gaetz, who along with Melanie Redman of is next week in Toronto.

“The main reason for homelessness in general is a lack of affordable housing, but for youth in particular, family conflict plays a huge role. Half of homeless people will have their first experience of homelessness under the age of 25, so preventing youth homelessness is a crucial part of tackling the larger crisis.”

Acknowledging that the housing ‘crisis’ is actually a chronic condition that continues to grow worse, Gaetz advocates for a public-health model of prevention. This includes broad strategies that benefit society as a whole, such as widely available affordable childcare and housing, to targeting those most at risk of homelessness, with specific strategies dealing with Indigenous homelessness, interventions for those facing imminent eviction, and for those who do find themselves homeless, swift interventions to house them immediately and make sure they don’t become homeless again.

A key intervention for youth is to enhance their family connections and other natural supports.

“If we focused our efforts on preventing youth homelessness, not only would we have better outcomes for young people, but also for their families and communities, and in the long run we would have an impact on chronic homelessness,” says Gaetz.

“Currently, youth who age out of foster care, hospital patients and those being released from prison are all being discharged into homelessness in this country. This should never happen.”

Held Monday, February 24 to Wednesday, February 26 at the Westin Harbour Castle, the conference will feature researchers, service providers, experts with lived experience and thought leaders from Canada and around the world, highlighting research that showcases evidence-based solutions to youth homelessness.

With more than 500 people registered for the event, Gaetz says to his knowledge it is the largest conference hosted on the topic of youth homelessness prevention to date. Gaetz is available at the conference and beyond to speak to the media on concrete strategies communities can adopt to prevent homelessness, and youth homelessness in particular.

• Why half of homeless people first experience homelessness as youth and how addressing family conflict for both youth and their families is key
• The connection between foster care, criminalization and homelessness
• The key evidence-based interventions that have demonstrated how to prevent youth homelessness.
• Why providing homeless people with housing is cheaper and more effective than focusing resources on the shelter system
• Examples from around the world of governments successfully taking action to prevent homelessness

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91��ɫ is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change, and prepare our students for success. 91��ɫ's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91��ɫ’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:

Emina Gamulin, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 437-217-6362, egamulin@yorku.ca

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The housing needs of international students are often forgotten when mayoral candidates talk about the lack of affordable housing, say 91��ɫ Professors Tania Das Gupta and Yvonne Su

TORONTO, June 7, 2023 – With Toronto rents continuing to climb many young people are finding it near impossible to secure affordable places, but international student face additional obstacles, including rights abuses, sexual harassment, rent gouging and discrimination, says two 91��ɫ professors.

91��ɫ Professor and Assistant Professor have found many of the rental ads prey on international students, particularly Indian students, and are not only discriminatory, but also violate the Ontario Human Rights Code.

In the lead up to the mayoral byelection, the researchers stress the importance of addressing the situation, suggesting that mayoral candidates should state their understanding of the issue and how they plan to remedy. International students are particularly vulnerable to abuse, especially in a tight rental market.

International students often find themselves in sub-standard rentals, such as basement units not built to code or infested with pests, over-crowded and unsafe, often lacking fire and carbon monoxide alarms, say the researchers.

There have even been ads online ads for renters to share the same bed on a rotating basis.

Das Gupta’s looks specifically at the needs of young Punjabi newcomers and their barriers to settlement during and post-COVID-19.

Su and Das Gupta are available to discuss the risks and challenges international students face when they search for affordable rental housing.

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With Brampton as a case study, 91��ɫ U researchers find pandemic has exacerbated issue

TORONTO, Jan. 26, 2022 – Usually when people think of urban sprawl it’s rows of houses spread out horizontally from a city centre, but in a new paper, 91��ɫ researchers say vertical sprawl is equally an issue. Sprawl is tied to the lack of accessibility, how houses are commodified and financed, and the current housing crisis, which the pandemic has exacerbated.

“There is a growing tendency to see peripheral horizontal expansion as the problem, while the focus on building more dense vertical development continues unabated,” says Professor , an expert in cities, suburbs and infrastructure in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change.

Sprawl is big-ticket politics in Ontario where converting real estate properties into financial assets is driving the economy in the province, and particularly the GTA, argues Keil and contract faculty Murat Üçoğlu of the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. Their paper, , was published in journal disP – The Planning Review and assesses the effect of planning policies in Ontario over several decades.

“The politics of sprawl need to go beyond the usual anti-sprawl narrative by accepting that the centre is as problematic as the periphery,” says Üçoğlu.

The researchers use Brampton as a case study for the GTA. Its official plan prioritizes compact residential condominium and commercial development in and around the city core.

Keil and Üçoğlu explain how it went from an upscaled regional governance which operated through a framework of land-use planning, which helped protect a regional greenbelt, designated growth centres and rolled out transit investments.

“It wasn’t a perfect safeguard against sprawl,” says Keil, “but it did alter land-use practices, transportation policies, and change the politics around densities. There was still an increase in regional density as well as low-density subdivisions being built.”

But the discourse around planning, growth management and regional government has begun to change in recent years. “One of the biggest issues to tackling sprawl is understanding how it’s tied to the financialization of housing,” says Üçoğlu.

As of 2019, real estate was the economy’s leading sector with a 12.8 per cent share of the $1.99 trillion GDP, followed by the construction sector with a 7.17 per cent share.

Real estate also led the Ontario economy with a 13.01 per cent share of the province’s GDP of $744.44 billion as of 2019, followed by construction with a 6.78 per cent share.

“Construction and real estate sectors are the biggest drivers of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Canada and Ontario. If this were to slow down, it could create a financial crisis,” says Üçoğlu. “It is dependent on the creation of a market-oriented housing system, rather than affordable, social and public housing systems.”

This stems from the economic growth model that was first embraced in the late 1990s, which depends on growth in the real estate, financial and construction sectors. The researchers say this model relies on the financialization of housing and massive suburbanization to drive the sale of more houses and mortgages.

In their paper, , published in the fall issue of the journal Built Environment, Keil and Üçoğlu argue that economic growth based on the financialization of housing has created a fiscal trap for the system. This makes it difficult to create new housing options to slow the ongoing housing crisis and makes it difficult for newcomers to access the housing market.

“This has fed into rising homelessness and made it increasingly difficult for young people and new immigrants to access the housing market, while increasing unaffordability,” says Keil.

To address the housing crisis, which the pandemic has deepened, there needs to be an understanding of the link to finance capital that is now driving sprawl and density in much of the Toronto region. Future discussions need to focus on how to de-financialize cities, say the authors.

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91��ɫ is a modern, multi-campus, urban university located in Toronto, Ontario. Backed by a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and partners, we bring a uniquely global perspective to help solve societal challenges, drive positive change and prepare our students for success. 91��ɫ's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education. 91��ɫ’s campuses in Costa Rica and India offer students exceptional transnational learning opportunities and innovative programs. Together, we can make things right for our communities, our planet, and our future.

Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 416-272-6317, sandramc@yorku.ca

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