The 2026 Municipal Election is a pivotal moment for housing policy.
On October 26, voters across Ontario will elect mayors and councillors who have significant influence over how much housing gets built, where it gets built, how quickly projects move forward, and ultimately how much homes cost.
Ontario is not building enough housing. Between 2022 and 2025, the province recorded approximately 304,000 housing starts, barely half of what was needed to remain on track with the government’s target. In 2025 alone, housing starts fell to just over 62,000.
The consequences are visible across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Simcoe County, and beyond. Home prices remain out of reach for many households. For a growing number of younger Canadians, homeownership no longer feels like an achievable goal.
Municipal governments did not create the housing crisis on their own. They do not control interest rates, financing costs, or construction prices. But they do control many of the rules, fees, and approval processes that determine whether housing gets built.
That is why this election matters.
The barriers to housing are well known. Development charges have risen sharply. Approval processes can take years. Planning requirements vary across municipalities. Restrictive zoning limits opportunities to add housing in established neighbourhoods. Parking minimums increase costs and consume valuable land, even in areas served by transit.
No single policy is responsible for Ontario’s housing shortage. Together, however, these barriers have made housing more difficult, more expensive, and less predictable to build.
Municipal councils should begin by examining whether the taxes, fees, and charges imposed on housing are helping address the shortage or making it worse. Infrastructure must be funded, but excessive costs can discourage the development communities need. When projects no longer make financial sense, they are delayed, scaled back, or cancelled.
Municipalities should also focus on speeding up approvals. Every month spent navigating the approval process adds costs that are ultimately passed on to buyers and renters. Greater standardization, firm timelines, modern technology, and stronger accountability would make approvals faster and more predictable while maintaining responsible planning standards.
Zoning reform must also be part of the solution.
Too often, housing debates are framed as a choice between detached homes and high-rise towers. In reality, there is a wide range of options in between. Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, laneway suites, and small apartment buildings can provide more attainable housing while adding density gradually to existing neighbourhoods.
Yet many municipalities continue to restrict these forms of housing. Allowing up to four units as-of-right on urban residential lots and eliminating unnecessary parking minimums, particularly near transit, would not solve the housing shortage on their own. But they would remove barriers to the homes Ontarians increasingly need.
Municipalities should also avoid creating new costs for homebuyers. Toronto’s Municipal Land Transfer Tax remains a significant burden, particularly for first-time buyers and families already struggling with affordability. Toronto should be looking for ways to reduce this burden, not expand it. Other municipalities should reject similar taxes altogether.
Public concern about housing is clear. Ipsos research commissioned by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board found that 85 per cent of GTA and Simcoe residents are concerned about housing affordability, while 82 per cent believe municipalities are not doing enough to address the issue. Nine in ten residents say they are considering voting in the upcoming election, and 60 per cent are more likely to support housing-focused candidates.
Candidates should be clear about where they stand. Will they reduce municipal costs on housing? Will they accelerate approvals? Will they permit more missing-middle housing? Will they reject new taxes on homebuyers? These are no longer niche planning debates. They are questions of affordability, economic opportunity, and generational fairness.
Municipal leaders cannot control interest rates or global economic conditions. They can, however, decide whether housing approvals take months or years, whether zoning permits the homes families need, and how heavily housing is taxed.
On October 26, voters should elect municipal leaders prepared to remove barriers to housing. If we want homes to become more affordable, we must first make them easier to build.
It is time to clear the way for more housing.
Daniel Steinfeld
President
Toronto Regional Real Estate Board