ACORN Canada

Check out some amazing work happening across ACORN communities from coast to coast!✊

Every day, members are organizing, taking action, and winning real improvements for tenants, low-income families, and communities. Join us and help build people power in your city!

🔈BC ACORN launched its Affordable Energy Campaign, calling on FortisBC to keep energy affordable and stop passing the costs of major gas expansion projects onto ratepayers.
🔈Alberta ACORN members held a rally opposing proposed changes to Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and related affordability measures.
🔈Toronto ACORN and its allies secured a $1 million expansion to the City’s Free Air Conditioner Program.
🔈Ottawa ACORN More than 100 tenants gathered at an Ottawa ACORN meeting in Accora Village to discuss redevelopment concerns and build collective action for tenant rights.
🔈Hamilton ACORN spoke against changes to the Hamilton Central Library access policy and encouraged residents to participate in a public survey, advocating for accessible and inclusive public spaces.
🔈Nova Scotia ACORN organized a community action in Spryfield to highlight housing issues faced by tenants. Members shared concerns about pests, repairs, leaks, and mold, and called for better housing conditions.
🔈New Brunswick ACORNmembers are mobilizing on affordable energy, calling attention to rising power bills and demanding action from decision-makers. Members are organizing rallies and public actions across the province.

Join the fight- Join ACORN!💪

Would any politician live in a cockroach-infested unit like this and still pay rent?

ACORN members in Calgary and beyond are fighting for because everyone deserves safe and decent housing.

Today, Toronto City Council voted to strengthen the RentSafeTO program by:

• Introducing a colour-coded signage system for evaluating Toronto apartment buildings and a plan for rolling them out across the city this summer.
• Reweighing evaluation scores to penalize landlords for more serious infractions, like broken elevators.
• Creating a policy framework for remedial action so the City can fix up deteriorating buildings and bill the landlords for the work.

This is alongside the investments that have been made over the last couple years in expanding the size of the team of RentSafeTO bylaw enforcement officers.

Make no mistake, these changes *will* help Toronto tenants. We’ve been calling for these measures for years.

But there’s more to fight for, like universal work orders and in-unit inspections. We were happy to see ’s motion to investigate expanding the RentSafeTO program to more properties, ensure bylaw officers are engaging tenants door-to-door, and find more ways to provide RentSafeTO information directly to tenants. We’ll be back at City Hall soon to push for these changes and more, but for now, we celebrate!

Build Power - Demand Change - Share Victories - REPEAT! 🚩

Close to 200 ACORN members from across the country attended our national housing meeting! Here's a quick recap:

🚩 Leaders from BC, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia went over the problems that exist with their provincial tenant legislation. ⚖️

🚩National ACORN leaders described how the federal government can require provincial governments to improve tenant protections. ✊ We are losing affordable housing way faster than it is being built! 📉

QUICK FACTS 👀👇
Between 2016–2021, Canada lost 230,000 affordable rental units. That is 46,000 per year! 🏚️ The PBO estimated the federal government is only building 13,000 deeply affordable rentals over five years, and 26,000 total rental units (affordable for median income earners and below) over five years. That is just over 5,000 per year being created. 🏗️🚫

This needs to stop. 🛑

ACORN members are fighting to:

✅Leverage federal housing funding to require provinces/municipalities to meet tenant protection standards. 💰🏛️

✅Push for the Renters’ Bill of Rights to include:

- Real rent control, no loopholes. 🛑📈
- Bans on no-fault evictions and an end to fixed-term lease abuse. 🏠🙅‍♀️
- Secure tenure for all renters. 🔑
- Ensure "Build Canada Homes" funding prioritizes adequate, non-market housing for tenants in core housing need. 🏘️🤝