NDP housing promise includes new landlord limits, more help for non-profits

TORONTO — Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Friday his party would ban corporate landlords from buying existing affordable rental properties.

Speaking at a campaign stop outside a Toronto apartment complex, Singh said Canada needs to do more to help address rising housing costs.

“We’re going to take this problem head on, and we are going to ban large corporate landlords from engaging in the predatory practice of buying up affordable homes,” Singh said.

The plan is similar to a bill the NDP proposed last year that would have restricted such sales to individuals, non-profits, municipalities, agencies and co-ops.

This is Singh’s second time talking about housing affordability in Toronto this week. He made a campaign stop Tuesday to meet with a woman named Erin Findley who said her building was purchased by Brookfield.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was the chair of Brookfield until shortly before entering the Liberal leadership race in January.

Findley once again shared her story during Singh’s announcement on Friday, and said she and other tenants fear the possibility of their building being torn down to make way for new condo towers.

When asked about holding two similar events in the first week of the campaign, Singh said he wants to draw attention to how an NDP government would take on challenges like housing affordability.

“This is a policy that I’m proud of. I think it’s something that’s really going to change the landscape of our country,” Singh said.

“And it speaks directly to who we are as a party and who I am as a leader. I want to take on the powerful that are ripping you off and exploiting you.”

Singh also said a NDP government would stop financial supports — such as low-interest federal loans and mortgage loan insurance — for corporate landlords who gouge tenants.

The NDP is also promising more money for the Rental Protection Fund — a federal program that supports community housing projects.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2025

David Baxter, The Canadian Press