On June 26, Olivia Chow was declared the winner of the 2023 Toronto mayoral election.
She secured 37.2% of the total vote share, defeating former councillor Ana Bailão by 30,000 votes.
Chow's pro-renter campaign appealed to the city’s growing and vocal tenant population, who long sought a champion in the political arena.
Among Chow’s top priorities is the construction of 25,000 rent-controlled homes over the next eight years – an initiative meant to solve Toronto’s 88,500-unit rental supply deficit.
She also plans to transfer $100 million in affordable rental stock to not-for-profit providers, and to create 1,000 new rent supplements to support people out of homelessness.
Chow says she will triple Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax to 3%, which could increase housing availability by incentivizing more owners to rent or sell more quickly.
She has also pledged to form a Renters Action Committee made up of city staff, renters, housing providers and advocates. This task force would enforce rent control, implement anti-renoviction bylaws, and review renter policies and initiatives.
The full impact of Olivia Chow’s policies on residential property managers remains to be seen. On one hand, her focus on increasing rental supply could create new business opportunities as more investors enter the space. However, stricter rent control measures could limit rental income growth.
Chow will take office on July 12.
More housing policy headlines
Renters push for more regulation as number of mom-and-pop landlords continues to grow – Storeys
Canadian immigration news: 2 ways property owners could benefit from Bill 23 – PayProp
Ontario government proposing changes to crack down on huge pre-construction price hikes – CBC
