Singh: We Will Stop Corporate Landlords like Mark Carney’s Brookfield from Buying Up Homes and Hiking Your Rent

TORONTO – Jagmeet Singh stood in Toronto today with a clear message: while corporate landlords like Brookfield are buying up apartment buildings and jacking up rents, the NDP will fight back—and stop them cold.

“People who rent are getting squeezed from every side,” said Singh. “Donald Trump is threatening tariffs that will drive up costs, and right here at home, corporate landlords like Brookfield are circling the rental market—buying up affordable apartments, renovicting tenants, slapping on a coat of paint, and charging double the rent. In tough times like these, working people need protection—not more pressure.”

Under Mark Carney’s leadership in August 2023, Brookfield outlined a deliberate strategy to profit from high interest rates that were pricing working people out of the housing market. A plan his CEO described as an “opportunistic real estate [strategy] in order to take advantage of the stress in the market, which is our sweet spot.”

Singh was joined by Erin Filby, a renter in Toronto who he met on the campaign trail this week. Erin and her son live in an apartment that was bought by Brookfield Properties last year. Since then, she’s seen the cost of living go up, surprise fees added to her bills, and neighbours pushed out.

“Speculators and corporations are executing a strategy to exploit our housing crisis for their own profit,” said Singh. “We can’t tackle this crisis without stopping cracking down on this corporate takeover.”

“Mark Carney helped Brookfield Properties make $3.4 billion last year by profiting off people like Erin,” said Singh. “We just can’t count on Mark Carney to stand up for people against corporate speculators like the company that he ran until just a few weeks ago. I’m not here for the billionaires—I’m in this to fight for you.”

Singh made clear: the federal government is helping fuel this crisis by giving bad corporate landlords access to cheap loans, mortgage insurance, and tax breaks—and that ends under an NDP government.

The NDP will:

• Ban corporations from buying existing affordable rental buildings
• Cut off handouts – including low-interest federal loans, preferential tax treatment and mortgage loan insurance - for big corporate landlords who gouge their tenants
• Boost the Rental Protection Fund – to help non-profits purchase affordable apartments when they come onto the market.

“This election is about who you trust to have your back when times get tough,” said Singh. “Mark Carney helped billionaires buy up your housing. Pierre Poilievre wants to leave renters at the mercy of the market. I’m not like them. I’ll fight to make sure your rent is fair, your home is safe, and your government works for you—not for corporate landlords.”