By: Alex Ramsay
A recent survey of Ryerson students has found that affordable housing is a main concern for many attending the university.
Ryerson itself has been ranked the second most expensive university for students living away from home. Couple this with the university’s location in the newly-designated Ward 13 – which has one of the largest wealth disparities of any of the cities wards – and it’s no surprise that affordable housing is on students’ minds.
“We’re dealing with an enormous housing crisis and a homelessness crisis across the country,” said anti-poverty activist John Clarke, founder of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.
Of those surveyed, 38 per cent said that affordable housing was the most pressing issue for the city to address. Improving public transit and reducing gun violence followed with 24 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
Infographic courtesy of Mariah Siddiqui
With the boundaries of Toronto’s wards redrawn as a result of Premier Doug Ford slashing city council nearly in half, councillors of what were previously separate wards are now election rivals.
‘Fair and equitable city’
As election day draws closer, three candidates have emerged as front-runners in the municipal election for Ward 13: Kristyn Wong-Tam, Lucy Troisi and George Smitherman.
Incumbent Wong-Tam has worked with numerous organizations in the past in attempts to improve affordable housing in Toronto, including ACORN. Wong-Tam has also endorsed mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat, who has vowed to build 100,000 rental housing units over the next decade.
Wong-Tam’s rival candidate and former MPP George Smitherman has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of affordable housing and has signed the Toronto Affordable Housing Pledge, which Wong-Tam has also signed.
“We are asking all Toronto mayor and councillor candidates to show their support for a fair and equitable city,” reads the pledge.
Meanwhile, Ward 28 councillor Lucy Troisi has not signed the pledge but has said that she still hopes to address the city’s housing crisis, while mainly focusing on community safety.
A look at two Toronto city councillors, Kristyn Wong-Tam and Lucy Troisi. (RSJ/Nadia Brophy)
According to Troisi, councillors must think outside the box if they hope to address the issue.
“I grew up in affordable housing, I know what it’s like,” said Troisi. “It’s frustrating to have councillors only solution to the problem to be to raise taxes”.
Ranked as the 13th least affordable housing market in the world by the Demographia Housing Affordability Survey, Torontonians have been feeling the economic pressure unlike ever before. The city was dubbed the “child poverty capital” of Canada in a 2016 study and a little over 3’000 people are on the waiting list for supportive housing in the city.
Ryerson School of Journalism students conducted in-person surveys about Toronto election issues with 1,081 undergraduate and graduate Ryerson students in October prior to the municipal election. The results are considered accurate to within plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Edited by Emma Sandri
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