Mayor’s Broken Promises: Housing Crisis Deepens

Close-up of a cracked wooden surface with the word 'PROMISE' etched into it

A newly elected mayor’s early policy decisions directly contradict campaign promises to address a catastrophic housing crisis, creating devastating ripple effects that threaten to lock families out of homeownership for generations while homelessness surges nearly 70 percent.

Story Snapshot

Toronto faces worst housing affordability in North America, with 66.1% of household income needed for ownership costs and only 0.5% rental vacancy
Development fees and zoning restrictions add $43,000-$90,000 per home, while applications have dropped 50% since 2021 amid 20-month approval delays
New mayoral leadership maintains high-cost policies despite affordability pledges, as homelessness rises 69% in five years and condo sales plummet 95%
Experts project 17-year waits for down payments and a 300,000-unit shortage by 2026, with one in five households in core housing need

Mayor’s Early Actions Undermine Housing Relief Promises

Toronto’s new mayor faces mounting criticism for sustaining policies that directly conflict with campaign commitments to tackle the city’s housing affordability catastrophe. Despite pledges to ease the burden on families struggling with housing costs, early decisions have maintained development fees that constitute 36 percent of home prices and add between $43,000 and $90,000 per unit. These charges, combined with restrictive zoning that limits 54 percent of residential land to single-detached homes, continue to strangle housing supply precisely when the city needs it most. The disconnect between rhetoric and action reveals a troubling pattern where political promises evaporate when confronted with entrenched bureaucratic revenue streams and regulatory barriers.

Housing Crisis Reaches Breaking Point with Severe Supply Collapse

Toronto’s housing market has deteriorated to crisis levels, with condo sales collapsing to a multi-decade low of just 1,599 units in 2025, down 95 percent from the 2021 peak. Housing supply applications have plummeted by half, falling from 2,482 in 2021 to only 1,225 in 2023, while development approvals drag out for 20 months on average. This supply stranglehold has created absurd competition for available units, with 4,000 applicants competing for just 75 rental units in some cases. The city’s 0.5 percent rental vacancy rate represents one of the tightest markets in North America, forcing families into overcrowded conditions where 39 percent of multi-person households struggle because only 10 percent of new condos offer three or more bedrooms.

Affordability Crisis Locks Out Working Families for Decades

RBC data reveals Toronto homeownership now consumes 66.1 percent of household income, making it the least affordable market in North America and pushing homeownership beyond reach for ordinary working families. TD Economics projects the Greater Toronto Area will face a shortage exceeding 300,000 homes by 2026, while analysis shows average residents face 17-year waits—203 months—to save for down payments under current conditions. This represents a fundamental assault on the American dream of homeownership, where government-created barriers price out hardworking citizens who played by the rules. The situation has doubled the rate of households in core housing need compared to national averages, with one in five Toronto households now struggling. This is precisely the kind of government overreach and bureaucratic stranglehold that destroys opportunity and prosperity for regular families.

Homelessness Surges as Red Tape Strangles Development

The consequences of failed housing policies extend far beyond priced-out buyers, with Toronto’s sheltered homelessness population surging 69 percent over five years as the housing crisis cascades through vulnerable populations. Social housing waitlists continue growing without corresponding supply increases, while developers face mounting obstacles that make projects financially unviable. Industry experts point to excessive red tape and government-imposed costs as primary culprits, with development charges alone accounting for 36 percent of new home prices. On January 20, 2026, federal, provincial, and municipal governments announced a $20 million partnership for supportive housing at Dunn House, but such piecemeal efforts pale against the scale of destruction caused by decades of supply-restricting policies. The mayor’s continuation of these anti-affordability measures while claiming commitment to relief represents the worst kind of political hypocrisy, where bureaucratic inertia and revenue addiction trump the desperate needs of struggling families.