Half of Toronto rents. Most councillors own homes. A new crop will change city hall’s makeup - Toronto Star

New renter-councillors want to make housing more secure, even as many of the rules governing tenants remain in provincial hands.

Parkdale—High Park’s councillor-elect, Diana Chan McNally, says she ran in part to bring the renters’ perspective to city hall.

An amber glow creeps through three small windows in a Parkdale basement apartment as the evening settles. Inside, Diana Chan McNally stands in front of her expansive record collection as one of her cats sprawls on the green retro table they share.

Prior to settling into her cosy unit adorned with knick-knacks, McNally endured a trail of evictions tied to disputes with questionable landlords.

With the election victory Monday night that saw her become the councillor for Parkdale—High Park, the longtime tenant advocate has taken one giant step toward altering the economic makeup of city hall. Before the election, Toronto had no councillors confirmed to be a renter like McNally, and now it will have three. She told the Star she wanted to bring that perspective to the fight against Toronto’s affordability crisis.

“This is an issue for everybody. Council should understand that,” McNally said. “But they should also understand that renters are by far more precarious in their particular situations.”

Renters are vocal, organized and more influential than ever as tenant rights move to the forefront of the city’s housing debate.