Activists Make History: Winning Renters’ Rights with Chiara Padovani

Perspectives: A Canadian Journal of Political Economy and Social Democracy

Chiara Padovani details her political journey in organizing renters and defending tenant rights against the encroachment of for-profit interests in housing.

Toronto, like other cities across Canada, has been coping with the rising housing affordability crisis as inflated rents, increased evictions, and massive real estate investment firms have become more commonplace. For Chiara Padovani, a social worker, organizer for the York South-Weston Tenant Union, and former Toronto City Council Candidate, when governments do nothing and take the side of corporations, tenants have to step in and resist together.

At the heart of Padovani’s political advocacy is ordinary citizens. On our second episode of Activists Make History, a new podcast series from Perspectives Journal, Padovani talks about the journey and success of mobilizing renters to collectively fight against corporations looking to turn housing from a social good into a commodity.

Tune into Activists Make History to learn more about the story of resilient tenants fighting for affordable housing and reasonable rents. This series could not have been made possible without the generous support of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union.

Notes:

• Ford's PCs rolled back rent control to spur new rental construction. Here's what happened next. By Lucas Powers, CBC, Sept. 25, 2023.
• Frances Nunziata campaign ‘cheated,’ says election rival in the wake of ethics report. By Ben Cohen, The Toronto Star, July 23, 2024.
• How a group of Toronto tenants turned to a risky last resort and got a ‘huge victory’. By Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press, Sept. 20, 2024.
• Canadian mega landlord using AI ‘pricing scheme’ as it massively hikes rents. By The Breach, Sept. 4, 2024
• York South Weston Tenant Union