ACORN Canada

05/29/2026

Check out some amazing work happening across ACORN communities from coast to coast!✊

Every day, members are organizing, taking action, and winning real improvements for tenants, low-income families, and communities. Join us and help build people power in your city!

🔈BC ACORN launched its Affordable Energy Campaign, calling on FortisBC to keep energy affordable and stop passing the costs of major gas expansion projects onto ratepayers.
🔈Alberta ACORN members held a rally opposing proposed changes to Alberta’s Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and related affordability measures.
🔈Toronto ACORN and its allies secured a $1 million expansion to the City’s Free Air Conditioner Program.
🔈Ottawa ACORN More than 100 tenants gathered at an Ottawa ACORN meeting in Accora Village to discuss redevelopment concerns and build collective action for tenant rights.
🔈Hamilton ACORN spoke against changes to the Hamilton Central Library access policy and encouraged residents to participate in a public survey, advocating for accessible and inclusive public spaces.
🔈Nova Scotia ACORN organized a community action in Spryfield to highlight housing issues faced by tenants. Members shared concerns about pests, repairs, leaks, and mold, and called for better housing conditions.
🔈New Brunswick ACORNmembers are mobilizing on affordable energy, calling attention to rising power bills and demanding action from decision-makers. Members are organizing rallies and public actions across the province.

Join the fight- Join ACORN!💪

05/09/2026

05/01/2026

Would any politician live in a cockroach-infested unit like this and still pay rent?

ACORN members in Calgary and beyond are fighting for because everyone deserves safe and decent housing.

04/24/2026

It's time for Canada to ban fixed term leases 📢.

On May 1st, fixed term leases - where your lease expires instead of rolling over to month-to-month - will be banned in the United Kingdom.

ACORN the union led this fight in the UK and WON✊. Now let's build on this momentum and make Canada next! JOIN US - we will win 🔥.

ACORN members across Canada are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to bring in a full suite of measures to protect renters - including an end to fixed term leases.

Send him a message ✍️. Add your name to the online action here: https://acorncanada.org/take_action/protect-affordable-housing-and-build-social-housing/

04/23/2026

Today, Toronto City Council voted to strengthen the RentSafeTO program by:

• Introducing a colour-coded signage system for evaluating Toronto apartment buildings and a plan for rolling them out across the city this summer.
• Reweighing evaluation scores to penalize landlords for more serious infractions, like broken elevators.
• Creating a policy framework for remedial action so the City can fix up deteriorating buildings and bill the landlords for the work.

This is alongside the investments that have been made over the last couple years in expanding the size of the team of RentSafeTO bylaw enforcement officers.

Make no mistake, these changes *will* help Toronto tenants. We’ve been calling for these measures for years.

But there’s more to fight for, like universal work orders and in-unit inspections. We were happy to see ’s motion to investigate expanding the RentSafeTO program to more properties, ensure bylaw officers are engaging tenants door-to-door, and find more ways to provide RentSafeTO information directly to tenants. We’ll be back at City Hall soon to push for these changes and more, but for now, we celebrate!

Build Power - Demand Change - Share Victories - REPEAT! 🚩

04/09/2026

After years of relentless organizing, ACORN and the City of New Westminster have made history—again! ✊🏙️

New Westminster has officially become the first city in Canada to pass a maximum heat bylaw, proving once again that when tenants organize, we WIN! 🏆📢

For too long, tenants have been left to swelter in dangerously hot apartments, told by landlords that they couldn’t even install their own A/C units (something that the City of New West also banned in 2025). But ACORN members know that extreme heat is a matter of life and death. 🌡️⚠️

New Westminster has a track record of boldly going where no council has gone before—starting with BC ACORN 's flagship Living Wage bylaw win in 2010 and the renoviction ban in 2019, both of which resulted in massive wins across the province for higher wages and expanded tenant protections. Now, by passing the first maximum heat bylaw in Canada, ACORN is proud to be a part of history once again! 📜✨

What’s Next? This is a massive win for climate justice and tenant rights, but we aren’t stopping here. No tenant should have to choose between paying rent and staying cool during a heatwave. 🧊🌍

So which Canadian city will be next? Members of Toronto ACORN Hamilton ACORN Ottawa ACORN London ACORN Peel ACORN Waterloo Region ACORN Alberta ACORN Nova Scotia ACORN New Brunswick ACORN are vying for it to be theirs. 🏁🏃‍♀️

JOIN US! 🤝🔥

04/07/2026

Close to 200 ACORN members from across the country attended our national housing meeting! Here's a quick recap:

🚩 Leaders from BC, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia went over the problems that exist with their provincial tenant legislation. ⚖️

🚩National ACORN leaders described how the federal government can require provincial governments to improve tenant protections. ✊ We are losing affordable housing way faster than it is being built! 📉

QUICK FACTS 👀👇
Between 2016–2021, Canada lost 230,000 affordable rental units. That is 46,000 per year! 🏚️ The PBO estimated the federal government is only building 13,000 deeply affordable rentals over five years, and 26,000 total rental units (affordable for median income earners and below) over five years. That is just over 5,000 per year being created. 🏗️🚫

This needs to stop. 🛑

ACORN members are fighting to:

✅Leverage federal housing funding to require provinces/municipalities to meet tenant protection standards. 💰🏛️

✅Push for the Renters’ Bill of Rights to include:

- Real rent control, no loopholes. 🛑📈
- Bans on no-fault evictions and an end to fixed-term lease abuse. 🏠🙅‍♀️
- Secure tenure for all renters. 🔑
- Ensure "Build Canada Homes" funding prioritizes adequate, non-market housing for tenants in core housing need. 🏘️🤝

03/26/2026

03/24/2026

ACORN leading the fight against Smith's cuts in Alberta.

SHAMEFUL STUFF from the uNiTeD CoNsERvATivES. 🤡🤡

03/23/2026

The federal government has updated their estimates that the $10 NSF cap will now save Canadians $600 MILLION annually 💰👀

This money comes directly out of banks' profits.

"It’s a real win for people who are low or moderate income... It’s their money, it’s not a form of credit, or anything else in that vein, it’s money Canadians have already earned — so this is a real win for Canadians as a whole,” says Tanya Burkart from Peel ACORN.