Ontario municipal elections are over but the affordability crisis remains

Ontario’s 2026 municipal elections are behind us, but the problems municipalities face persist.

Affordability was a major consideration at the ballot box, but municipalities aren’t as well-positioned as the federal and provincial governments to address things like the cost of food and housing.

In Northern Ontario, where the cost of food is typically higher than in the south, experts are predicting that food costs are likely set to increase as winter approaches, due to rising gas and diesel prices.

While the cost of food had been broadly identified as an election issue, so few levers exist to alleviate the problem on the municipal level.

In the final days of the Ontario municipal election, the federal government announced $20 million in funding through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund: Community Support Stream. Initial recipients were two Toronto food banks, with funding delivered as part of the federal government’s 2026 National Food Security Strategy.

According to a recent report by Food Banks Canada, a record number of Canadians visited food banks, citing 2.3 million in March 2026.

Food scarcity also remains a problem in some key areas. During one of my recent workshops in the Warden Woods community of Scarborough, residents talked about the lack of a grocery store in their community and how getting to the closest one requires taking a car or getting there by bus.

While current conversations are rightly centred on increasing grocery store competition, the lesser-known reality of food deserts remains.

Provincewide, housing affordability crises exist—from market rentals to homeownership, continuing to decimate household budgets of individuals and families whose incomes are not high enough to sustain housing market demands, amid other costs of living necessities.

Despite over a decade of efforts to address a nationwide problem, through the federal government’s previous National Housing Strategy as well as subsequent provincial and municipal efforts, progress on housing has modestly improved, more in some regions than others.

The lack of strong rent controls at the provincial level are adding to the affordability problem.

Municipalities are limited in their ability to fund solutions

In Ontario, where the history of downloading, amalgamation and more recently, governance changes to how municipalities engage in local decision-making, municipalities have added another layer of complexity and volatility to its political and policy environment.

This was most evident near the end of the municipal campaign period.

Near the end of the Ontario municipal election, affordability emerged as the defining issue for voters, placing greater attention on the topic of municipal finance and taxation.

It forced candidates, particularly in larger municipalities, to share what revenue-generating measures were necessary, to make their plans a reality.

And it’s a clear indication of what the electorate wants to see prioritized as the dust continues to settle, whether incumbents were victorious or swept out of office.

Increased transparency over taxation and spending should always be welcomed, but there needs to be much greater awareness about the fiscal constraints of municipalities. Municipal governments are legally not allowed to run deficits, and larger ones like Toronto come with semi-fixed costs, as employers for their region.

Municipalities are increasingly being pressured to address an affordability crisis that they themselves cannot solve alone. Commitments to making life more affordable without increasing revenue is a hard fiscal reality for municipalities to deliver on.

Even more so, affordability measures that focus on expanding access to recreation and social services, and/or increasing the amount of people who qualify for rebate programs would require local governments to have to spend more to make it happen.

Finding ways to help put more money back into people’s pockets, when current ones are stretched so thin is noble. But knowing the limitations of your ability to do is honest policy-making.

Without expanded funding support from senior levels of government, the future looks more like the present. Municipalities have some revenue-raising possibilities, but not enough to tackle the depth of the problems—especially in Ontario’s big cities.

So perhaps the biggest takeaway is the role that provincial and federal governments must play in addressing the issues and concerns that were so present at the ballot box in municipalities across the province.

About the author

Brittany Andrew-Amofah

Brittany Andrew-Amofah is the managing director of A.M Results, a public affairs consulting firm working with social purpose organizations to improve outcomes and scale up initiatives. Her policy work focuses on municipal governance and social policy.