June 26, 2025
The membership of More Neighbours Toronto is disappointed in City Council’s failure to legalize sixplexes across the City of Toronto. We call upon Federal Housing Minister Robertson to strongly consider its implications for the remainder of its allocated Housing Accelerator Funds (HAF).
The City of Toronto is in crisis. Housing costs,for ownership and rent, remain prohibitively high to most Torontonians. Housing starts are falling with 65% fewer starts from March 2024 to March 2025. Many Toronto neighbourhoods are shrinking in population with 56 of Toronto's 140 neighbourhoods having fewer people living in them in 2016 than in 1971. Just a handful of neighbourhoods are tasked with integrating the bulk of the city’s population growth. Young families are leaving and businesses are struggling to attract and retain workers. These are signs of a city that is not ready for the future.
Legalizing sixplexes across the city would not have solved the housing crisis Toronto finds itself in, but it would have shown that the City is willing to make progress towards addressing it. And yet, these reforms were severely reduced in scope and Council chose the path of delay, inaction and retreat. We are disappointed that Mayor Olivia Chow did not show clear leadership and stand up for this reform with the full spectrum of tools available to her, including Strong Mayor powers. Instead, the moment was squandered and a political calculation was made that only allows sixplexes in less than a third of the city’s residential zoning.
We were surprised to hear councillors publicly diminish the engagement of More Neighbours Toronto members during the consultation process. Our organization exists precisely to amplify the voices often excluded from traditional planning processes – young residents, renters, and future Torontonians who are too often left out of the conversation. Our volunteers showed up, in person and online, just like the city claims to desire in local democracy. Dismissing their contributions sends a troubling message to those trying to engage with civic processes for the first time: that their input doesn’t matter. That is unacceptable.
Council’s failure puts Toronto at risk of losing millions in federal funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund. These dollars were awarded based on the city’s commitment to expand housing permissions, including legalizing sixplexes. We do not believe the City deserves that money if it fails to keep its promises.
However, we encourage the federal Housing Minister Robertson to allow the Mayor to make a counteroffer – such as a commitment to successfully advance a citywide sixplex vote before the end of 2025, or another bold new action that makes up for this failure.
Toronto’s residents deserve a city that grows with them – not one that shuts them out. Council’s decision sends the wrong signal. It tells those who want to build, live, and thrive in this city that their needs come second to outdated rules and entrenched interests. That must change.
For more information, please contact More Neighbours Toronto at media@moreneighbours.ca
Download a pdf version of this press release.