Ontario’s next provincial election is fast approaching on February 27. As the election candidates roll out their platforms, they must keep health equity – fairness – at the forefront. The previous blogs in our Ontario election series provided recommendations for provincial candidates on thriving – policies that will help ensure people have what they need to live a healthy life – and health system equity. Below, we discuss how the province can work towards improving access to housing for all.
Housing is a critical social determinant of health. The stability, quality and affordability of one’s housing greatly influences their access to employment, education, health and social services, social networks, food and recreation. All of these influence overall health and well-being.
Wellesley Institute calls for a future in which everyone has the opportunities and resources they need to have a healthy home. This new normal means housing must be affordable – every individual or family should pay no more than 30 per cent of their income for a home that meets their needs. Their homes must be healthy, including having safe air quality and water supply, and be in good repair. Their homes must also be adequate, including having enough space for each person in the household, space to support older adults or other family members in need, and space to work, study and play where needed.
There are significant disparities in access to this needed healthy housing. Homelessness and substandard housing disproportionately impact historically underserved groups, including those who are Indigenous, low-income, racialized, newcomers, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+.
Housing has been identified as a key area of action by all levels of government in recent years. So far however, government action on housing has been focused primarily on increasing the supply of market housing to address the attainability of housing. This is inadequate, as the rapid construction of market housing is not aimed at achieving housing affordability for lower-income people, nor will it end homelessness.
The next leader of Ontario should first and foremost commit to doing their part to end chronic homelessness and present the people of Ontario with a plan for doing so. The plan should commit to setting and meeting annual targets for reducing chronic homelessness each year to eliminate it within a decade. Ontario must also do its part to advance and fully fund an Indigenous-led strategy to end Indigenous homelessness.
Fundamental to this plan should be funding the expansion of supportive housing, for which availability is falling far behind what is needed. Supportive housing combines housing assistance, such as rent supplements and rent-geared-to-income, with wrap-around support services. It helps diverse populations reach housing stability, including those with physical or developmental disabilities, mental health or substance use challenges, and others who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness. Wellesley Institute helped lead the Supportive Housing Growth Plan for Toronto in 2017, which demonstrated the need for 18,000 new units by 2030. This number is outdated and very low. Demand for supportive housing units continues to rise across Ontario, with the waitlist for mental health and addictions supportive housing surpassing 28,000 in 2024 for the City of Toronto alone. The plan to end homelessness should include a commitment to increasing Ontario’s supportive housing units by at least 40,000 over the next 10 years.
Ontario must also do its part to act on rental affordability and eviction prevention, which will help more people maintain housing stability. Overall housing affordability will require long-term action on income security and poverty reduction and the building of market and non-market housing. In the short-term, the next leader should commit to making changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to strengthen tenant protections and make changes to address preventable evictions. They should also immediately put into place rent control policies to regulate rental increases year-to-year to stabilize rents in private buildings and improve affordability. Finally, they should create and enhance programs such as rent banks and subsidies to prevent renters from falling into homelessness.
Ensuring access to affordable and adequate housing will require participation and collaboration between all levels of government, the public and private sectors, experts and other partners. However, Ontario is best positioned to take the lead on coordinating a strategy to end homelessness and improve housing affordability for tenants. We urge the next leader of Ontario to take this crisis seriously and act immediately to advance towards healthy housing for all.