Financialization - Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario

Ontario is becoming a province of the haves vs. the have-nots. We lose affordable housing every day with no end in sight. Renters struggle just to make ends meet, with our recent poll indicating that 60% of renters are cutting back on food just to afford their homes. All the while, landlords across Ontario charge outrageous rental prices and rake in record profits. This is unfair. This is unjust. Ontario needs to change.

Part of the reason for this crisis is the rise of the financialization of housing, a process that encourages housing to be treated as investments, first and foremost. This shift deeply affects Ontario renters because the majority of our rental housing is provided by the private market. Financialization encourages landlords to make decisions based on how much money they think they can make, and how quickly they can make it, without much consideration given to the people they are providing housing for. This trend has been escalating for years and its effects now permeate every aspect of low-and middle-income renters’ lives. Economic evictions, renovictions, displacement, and homelessness are on the rise.

ACTO has taken a keen interest in how the growing financialization of housing is a key driver of the affordable housing crisis. Over the coming months, we will be adding information & resources on this page to educate the public on how financialization is changing the landscape of housing. We hope that, together, we can challenge the rise of financialization and ensure that every Ontarian – no matter their income – has a safe, secure, and affordable place to call home.

Priced Out: The Financialization of Housing in Canada

On November 29th, 2022, ACTO hosted a virtual forum with experts, advocates, and community members to examine how financialization of housing is growing in Canada, and how we may collectively advance solutions.