Toronto Tenant Union Co-chair Bruno Dobrusin at a rent strike at 1440 and 1442 Lawrence Ave. W. in Toronto in 2023. Photo courtesy Toronto Tenant Union/X.

On April 18, more than 300 tenants from across the Greater Toronto Area gathered at the founding convention of the Toronto Tenant Union (TTU), whose mission is to “fight rent hikes, win housing justice, and protect our homes.”

Given the track record of its two largest founding groups—the York South-Weston Tenant Union and Climate Justice Toronto—the TTU is poised to fight landlords fiercely and win often.

It could do even more.

This new, city-wide tenant union could inject a much-needed dose of political honesty into housing debates.

The distribution of housing is a quintessential political-economic question, not simply an economic one. Land and the homes we build on it are not like the proverbial widgets of economic textbooks. We can’t produce housing in whatever quantity, given the limited amount of desirable land on which to build it. And people can’t simply forgo housing if the price isn’t right.

The controlled supply and inelastic demand for housing lead to enviable profit margins for those who sell or rent it. They wouldn’t have it any other way. In turn, those who pay too much in rent want price controls and the removal of profit from the equation.

There is no “win-win” policy solution that will please both renters and owners. Politicians must pick a side.

Mark Carney and Doug Ford could have worked together to curb predatory financial landlords through a combination of tax policies and strong rent controls. Instead, they are spending $2.2 billion on a HST rebate for houses priced under $1 million.

The winners:........

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