ACORN Canada celebrated 20 years of community organizing at their 7th Biennial National Convention in Oshawa, with over 250 members attending from coast to coast!  Members marched to the CMHC office in Toronto to deliver 300+ tenant testimonials and demand that the Renters Bill of Rights set National Tenant Rights Standards.

Big win for Toronto ACORN when members won a unanimous council vote to beef up an inspection bylaw that ensures healthy homes for renters- ensuring it will be adequately enforced to protect residents.  ACORN Canada members gathered outside of city hall in Ottawa to launch the Roadmap to ‘Save Affordable Housing’ platform, pressuring council members to vote YES on a Renoviction Bylaw that would protect renters.

ACORN Ontario released a new report detailing the effects on renovictions on tenants, and called on cities across the country to stand in solidarity. ACORN Canada has called on the federal government to tax excessive profits from grocery stores across the country, which they have been raking in profits while working people struggle.

After five years of tireless organizing, ACORN Hamilton had a MAJOR win in January, when the city became the first in Ontario to pass a bylaw to restrict renoviction! ACORN Canada is keeping this incredible momentum going to pass similar legislation in Waterloo and London!

Today, December 6th, over 30 ACORN members braved the frigid cold and rallied outside city hall right before the 2024 Ottawa City Budget vote to demand a significant allocation of $40 million for affordable housing! Co-Chair of the Central Ottawa ACORN Chapter Pascal Kakule was a dynamic force at the forefront of this rally and advocated for the crucial need for city councillors to act now and increase the affordable housing fund in the city budget to finally create some meaningful impact on the lives of Ottawa tenants. Read more here!

ACORN Canada took to the streets, organising a national day of action in 9 cities to put an end to sales of apartments to predatory landlords! And Ottawa ACORN are celebrating a massive victory in Manor Village. After 2 years of organising, they were able to force Smart Living Properties to withdraw their eviction notices and allow all tenants to stay in their homes!

On Tuesday, July 25th ACORN held nation-wide actions in 9 cities demanding the federal government to end apartment sales to predatory landlords. At each local action, ACORN highlighted recently purchased buildings where tenants have faced the hard consequences of new corporations taking over Canada’s affordable market rental housing stock. ACORN’s Stop Financialized Landlords campaign is pushing the government to save Canada’s affordable market rental housing by creating ways that rental housing can become community owned on a large scale.

Ottawa ACORN fighting for tenants in the city since 2006

My name is Max Brazier, a member of Ottawa ACORN. I joined ACORN to fight for affordable and livable housing, and help get more students and young people involved in these campaigns. Since joining I’ve been an active part of the Housing Justice Priorities launch, and it’s been inspiring to see so many people come together.

NS ACORN members from across Halifax, Canada came for a rally at Mic Mac Mall on June 24 to demand affordable housing be included in the M District Future Growth Node redevelopment planned for the area surrounding the mall and is expected to construct several high-rises with over 2000 new residential units and commercial spaces.

Tenants at Skyline Towers in New Westminster, British Columbia were happy to see their broken elevators finally being replaced, only to find out that their landlord Bayside Properties intended to have tenants pay for the entire $1,000,000 bill with a rent increase. Under BC Provincial Housing legislation, landlords can now apply to the BC Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) for an Additional Rent Increase (ARI) to pay for major repairs needed in the building.