Commercial rent control is a suggested tool to protect small business tenants in a proposed new 10-year strategy to stimulate and manage economic growth in Toronto. The measure, which the Ontario government would first have to authorize, is identified as part of a package of actions to support three key priorities for urban vibrancy, job creation and Toronto’s competitiveness in the global economy.
The strategy was developed through a year-long engagement process, including input from a 28-member advisory panel composed of business, community and academic appointees and contributory research from the Canadian Urban Institute. Toronto City Council’s economic and community development committee will kick off discussion of the matter later this week before the strategy comes up for a full-member review at the October month-end council meeting.
“The Action Plan for Toronto’s Economy is built on the input and vision of thousands of Torontonians across many sectors, setting a clear path toward innovation, inclusivity and sustainability,” maintains Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “This plan lays out decisive steps to support our main streets, create good jobs and ensure that every community can feel the benefits of our economic growth.”
The proposed plan reiterates a commitment to bring Toronto’s commercial-to-residential tax ratio in line with the Ontario government’s target of no more than 1.98-to-1. That’s to be accomplished by restricting yearly increases to the commercial tax rate to less than 50 per cent of the upward increment in the residential tax rate.
Among suggested tactics, the City would lobby the Ontario government “to enhance protections for small businesses” with the aim of having commercial rent control in place by 2030. Other proposed policies would require the replacement of ground-floor commercial space lost due to real estate development along designated main streets, and would broaden eligibility for the small business property tax sub-class.
Business improvement areas (BIAs) would be backed to make greater investment in public spaces within their territories, and the commercial land trust concept would be inaugurated with a target for at least three to be in place by 2028. Incentives are also contemplated for the conversion of Class B and C office buildings into compatible new non-residential and mixed uses.
A new fund is envisioned to provide support to businesses that are disrupted due to protracted construction of infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, a new coordinating agency would intervene to “maximize project bundling” and find “sequencing opportunities” to mitigate the impact of those projects in the first place.
To begin, Council is taking a first look at the proposed actions and considering an implementation budget. That’s estimated at roughly $5.5 million in new expenditures, including for six new full time equivalent positions, for 2025.
