The choices Torontonians make in the municipal election will shape how our city grows over the next few years. Over the coming weeks, the Board will be publishing our issue guides on each of the topics below to help voters understand what is at stake. Each guide will explain the problem, why it matters and the actions the next mayor and council should consider.
Context
For many Torontonians, the biggest question isn't where they want to live, it’s where they can afford to. For some, the problem is more dire: it's whether they can even afford to stay. Currently, one in five residents worry about making rent or mortgage payments each month. Furthermore, many residents struggle to find homes that fit their needs, including family-suitable homes near jobs, schools, transit, and services.
4 in 10 Toronto residents say they are likely to leave the city entirely within the next five years - not because they want to go, but because they can no longer afford to stay.
Losing young, talented professionals is quickly becoming one of the most significant threats to Toronto's economic competitiveness and long-term growth. When workers and families cannot afford to live in the city, employers struggle to attract and retain talent, investment becomes less attractive and economic growth slows.
Housing Affordability
The City has made ambitious commitments to increase the supply and diversity of housing but has struggled to deliver on them. To help alleviate house unaffordability, we must also build a wider variety of homes that work for different household sizes, incomes, and life stages.
Toronto’s housing shortfall reflects a set of interconnected challenges involving costs, approvals, infrastructure funding, and unfinished policy commitments.
What are development charges (DCs)?
Development charges are fees imposed on land development and redevelopment projects to help pay for the capital costs of infrastructure that is needed to service new development.
What’s contributing to housing unaffordability?
Between 2006 to 2025, the price of housing in Toronto has tripled, greatly outpacing the 50 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index over the same period.
- Development charges (DCs) have continued to rise, adding costs before a shovel is in the ground. DCs for ownership housing have increased by more than 50%.
- Between May 2023 and May 2026:
- DCs for a single-detached home increased from $91,333, to $137,846, a 50.9% increase.
- DCs for a 2-bedroom unit increased from $53,463 to $80,690, a 50.9% increase.
- Between May 2023 and May 2026:
- Zoning and approvals remain major barriers. The process is slow, unclear and unpredictable for developers, which ultimately tacks on more costs to homebuyers.
- Commitments made through the Housing Accelerator Fund have stalled, triggering federal penalties. The City has had $10 million in funding withheld after failing to meet key implementation commitments as part of the fund.
Housing construction has declined 65% over the last three years. Toronto recorded only 4,557 housing starts between January and May 2026, compared with 12,866 housing starts during the same period in 2023.
Employment Lands
At the same time, Toronto faces a second challenge that’s often overlooked: ensuring we have enough space for the businesses and industries that power our economy to grow and remain for the long-term.
Toronto's employment lands support manufacturing, warehousing, logistics operations, and other businesses that cannot easily relocate elsewhere.
These lands are finite, difficult to replace, and increasingly under pressure from the demand for land for residential housing. Of the 8,314 hectares of employment lands that existed in 2006, 764 hectares have been lost already, with a further 235 hectares proposed for conversion to residential. Further, converting employment lands has delivered little in additional residential housing. Only about 20% of employment land sites converted since 2013 have ultimately resulted in residential development.
By the Numbers
Employment lands:
Account for
92% of the city’s manufacturing jobs
Generate
$52 billion
in annual GDP
Support
381,270 jobs and
22,530 businesses
Here’s what’s at stake
The next four years will be critical in determining whether Toronto can reverse a deepening housing crisis that is undermining the city's economic competitiveness and quality of life.
At a time when governments across Canada are focused on affordability, productivity, and long-term growth, Toronto has both an opportunity and an obligation to lead by building more diverse homes quickly and at prices that work for the range of people who live and work here.