In April 2026, the Toronto Tenant Union was launched as a city-wide organization bringing together housing rights groups, neighbourhood associations, and climate activists under a common banner. A renters rights movement is growing and refusing to accept rising costs and poorer living conditions. This has also led to movement leaders hoping to push for electoral change, as 2025 Jack Layton Progress Prize recipient Chiara Padovani, former co-chair of the York-South Weston Tenants Union in Toronto, runs for City Council in upcoming elections in Fall 2026. To organize bigger, neighbourhood tenant unions are expanding city-wide, teaming up with other social movements, and finding new paths to power to change the livelihoods of renters.
Perspectives Journal contributor James Adair spoke with Toronto Tenant Union organizers Bruno Dobrusin and Sama Nanayakkara about building tenant power, the connection between housing and climate justice, and their vision for a movement capable of challenging landlords and reshaping housing politics.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.



