The Star and the University of Toronto's School of Cities are collaborating to propose solutions for Toronto's housing challenges ahead of the October 26 municipal election. Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing researcher at U of T, advocates expanding Toronto’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) fund, which has preserved over 1,000 homes since 2021 through loans and grants to non-profit housing providers. Whitzman also suggests the city should lobby for a "right of first refusal" from the Ontario government, allowing it to purchase at-risk affordable buildings before they face rent hikes or demolition.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Ahead of Toronto's municipal election on Oct. 26, Carolyn Whitzman from the University of Toronto’s School of Cities proposes expanding the city’s Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) fund. This fund provides loans and grants to help non-profit housing providers purchase buildings at risk of rent increases, converting them into permanently affordable housing. Expanding this program would preserve existing affordable units, prevent tenant displacement, increase supportive and deeply affordable homes, and help non-profits build equity. Whitzman's proposal aims to protect not just create new affordable housing, addressing one of Toronto’s thorniest problems as presented by the Star newspaper in collaboration with U of T experts.
Written for “Toronto Affordable Housing Campaign” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
The Star is partnering with the School of Cities at the University of Toronto to pitch big ideas during the run-up to this month’s municipal election.
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Star → partner → election
Affiliated faculty at the school have taken on some of the city’s thorniest problems and the Star has presented their solutions to the two main contenders running to be mayor.
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Star → take → contenders
Toronto is already successfully working to protect — not just build — existing affordable housing.
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Toronto → work → housing
Ahead of the municipal election on Oct. 26, Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing researcher and adjunct professor with the U of T School of Cities, is challenging the city to escalate its efforts.
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Whitzman → challenge → efforts
Whitzman suggests Toronto expand its Multi-Unit Residential Acquisition (MURA) fund, a program of loans and grants to help non-profit housing providers purchase buildings at risk of getting rent increases to turn them into permanently affordable housing.
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providers → suggest → housing
She said the move would preserve affordable housing and prevent tenant displacement, increase the number of “supportive and deeply affordable” homes and help non-profit providers build equity.
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providers → say → equity
“It is an easy win because it expands a program that’s already working,” she argued in a municipal election issues brief.
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she → expand → brief
MURA has preserved more than 1,000 homes in 34 properties across the city since 2021, the paper added, and its expansion “can be implemented now.”
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expansion → preserve → 2021
In an interview Whitzman said affordable housing efforts must include new construction of nonmarket housing, acquisitions of private-market homes to turn into nonmarket housing — for example, with public housing, co-ops, and community land trusts — and renovations of aging, nonmarket buildings.
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efforts → say → buildings
Give the city an advantage
It also calls on Toronto to advocate for the Ontario government to give the city a “right of first refusal.”
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government → give → refusal
This would entail the city identifying affordable buildings and areas at risk of demolition or at risk of being sold to a company that would significantly hike rents and then requiring the sellers to go to the city for the first offer.
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that → entail → offer
“The city has the option of paying market cost for it,” Whitzman explained.
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Whitzman → have → it
“It’s not expropriating it, by any means.”
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It → expropriate → means
Such initiatives have already found success with British Columbia’s “Rental Protection Fund,” a “pre-emptive right” approach allowing Montreal to purchase buildings with affordable housing and the right of first refusal for co-operatives or local governments in several U.S. jurisdictions, the brief notes.
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brief → find → jurisdictions
In the province’s Build Ontario fund, Whitzman added that the federal government recently began rolling out its $1.5 billion Canada Rental Protection Fund which aims to help community housing providers preserve affordable properties.
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providers → add → properties
“The time is so, so ripe for the City of Toronto to apply for some federal funding to help their own efforts to expand their own program,” she said.
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she → apply → program
What do the candidates think?
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candidates → think → What
Brad Bradford’s team: “Keep your home, by enforcing the renoviction by-law the City already has and publishing the results by address.
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City → keep → address
Build more homes, by giving non-profit and co-op builders predictable density rules instead of a negotiation on every site, expanding the revolving pre-development fund so early money gets repaid and lent again, and publishing a quarterly scoreboard against the City’s own target of 65,000 rent-controlled homes.”
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money → build → homes
Olivia Chow’s team: “As mayor, Olivia Chow expanded the MURA Program with nearly $100 million in funding to help nonprofits acquire more than 1,000 homes so far, and keep them affordable.
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nonprofits → expand → them
Olivia Chow will continue to fund MURA.
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Chow → continue → MURA
In addition to MURA, we need to protect renters citywide.
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we → need → renters
That’s why as mayor, Olivia Chow established a Renters Action Committee and has been acting on their feedback.”
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Chow → ’ → feedback
The Aporia
