Toronto gathering to devise tactics to fight the profit-fuelled housing crisis

TORONTO, May 19, 2026 /CNW/ - Scores of activists will gather May 23, 2026, to plot strategy aimed at fighting the affordable-housing crisis that is shredding the social fabric of Toronto.

Community is the central theme of this year's People's Assembly for Housing Justice: Reclaiming, building, and defending our communities, and imagining our communities of the future.

"The People's Assembly for Housing Justice was created to amplify our ability to collectively push back against an unacceptable state of affairs," says Matt Whitfield, of Parkdale Housing Justice Network.

Organizers cite displacement of communities to make way for unneeded luxury condo and rental developments; drug-overdose deaths and closure of supervised consumption sites; and the often inhumane treatment of unhoused people by officials and agencies supposed to support them.

There is a desperate need to tackle the crisis of astronomical rents and the rising tide of evictions amplified by last year's pro-landlord Ontario Bill 60.

Government focus must shift from profit-driven development to better social supports, non-profits, co-ops and social housing. That change would save taxpayers millions spent on stop-gap measures, criminalizing the poor, and on soaring health-care costs resulting from homelessness.

The event will feature a panel discussion on direct action in the fight for affordable housing. Workshops will focus on tackling the powerful influence of landlords and developers, and taking the fight to the politicians who aid and abet them while ignoring the ongoing devastation.

"By inviting activists and organizers from around the city to come together for a day of workshops and discussions, we aim to strengthen our collective struggle for housing justice," says Gaetan Heroux, of 230 Fightback.

The 2026 assembly builds on last year's successful Toronto gathering where activists and movements discussed the struggle for housing justice and shared organizing lessons. Hundreds of tenant-rights and anti-poverty activists later demonstrated downtown.

The People's Assembly for Housing Justice comprises groups from across Toronto, including 230 Fightback, Parkdale Housing Justice Network, the Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union, the Toronto Tenant Union, Moss Park Coalition, the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change and Democratic Socialists of Canada.

When:  Saturday, May 23, 1:30pm – 7:30pm

Where: Roncesvalles United Church, 214 Wright Ave, Toronto

SOURCE People's Assembly

For further information, please contact: Matt Whitfield, 647-459-4756, [email protected]; Gaetan Heroux, 647-208-4290, [email protected]