Toronto has used its legal power to take remedial action to make repairs to rental units at 500 Dawes Ave. in East York after the landlord let the property fall into disrepair. “I will not tolerate slumlords in Toronto,” Mayor Olivia Chow said of the action in March. Chow has also introduced a motion,“Cracking Down on Bad Landlords,” which would expand the city’s powers and create a public database to track investigations and enforcement activity at rental properties with multiple complaints.
Two federal byelections are being held in Toronto on April 13. The central riding of University-Rosedale and the east end riding of Scarborough Southwest are both open after Liberals Chrystia Freeland and Bill Blair resigned. The Liberals won both in 2025 with over 60 per cent of the vote. The NDP used to consistently finish second in University-Rosedale with 20 to 30 per cent, but dropped to third in 2025 as the Conservatives bumped up to 23 per cent. The Conservatives have finished second in Scarborough Southwest since 2019 with 20 to 30 per cent.
The Ford government is cutting funding for seven supervised drug consumption sites, including two in Toronto. The government wants the sites to instead offer abstinence-based treatment, also known as homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs (or HART Hubs). Harm reduction advocates warn that the closures will lead to more deaths. As of publication, it’s unclear if any sites will try to stay open with alternative funding. The Grind reported that in November the federal Liberals in effect blocked the Parkdale site from staying open when it secured alternative funding.
Premier Doug Ford has revived his plan to allow jets to fly out of Billy Bishop airport on Toronto Island, and says he will expropriate land from the city to make it happen. The runway would need to be extended significantly into Lake Ontario. Ford’s plan is supported by the Toronto Port Authority, the federal agency that owns and operates the airport. Environmental groups and city council oppose the plan. The federal Liberals could block it, but it’s unclear where they stand.
On March 14, around 4,500 people attended the annual Al-Quds Day in support of Palestine. The Ford government submitted a last-minute application for an injunction to stop it, but a judge dismissed it, stating a ban would interfere with Charter rights to free expression. It was largely peaceful, although two counter-protesters were charged with assault, according to Toronto police.
Canada announced plans to eliminate all librarian positions in federal prisons. This amounts to 31 librarians across 38 institutions, and a savings of $2.4 million, according to a CBC News report. An open letter initiated by the group Book Clubs for Inmates calls it “a stark retreat from education, literacy and meaningful rehabilitation.”
The Ontario government will no longer create reports summarizing how many kids die each year in the child welfare network. Global News had previously been able to request internal government reports showing the numbers. The government said these internal reports gave an incomplete picture. Instead of adding more details, the government will stop producing the reports altogether. On average, 118 kids died in the system each year from 2020 to 2022.
Students are protesting the province’s plans to slash Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) grants. Currently, students can receive up to 85 per cent of their OSAP financial aid in the form of a non-repayable grant. In February, Premier Doug Ford announced his government would cut that to 25 per cent. The province has also lifted the tuition freeze. “The last thing students need is for the cost of education to rise,” Cyrielle Ngeleka, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, told a large student rally outside of Queen’s Park in March.