A change is proposed for this site - Laura Proctor

A change is proposed for this site (2023-2024)

For the past year and a half, I’ve been photographing Toronto’s post-war apartment buildings, seeking to visually document them —and the promise they once represented— before they’re gone.

Much of the affordable, purpose-built rental housing in Toronto was built in the post-WWII era, when there was a large increase in immigration to the city. 500,000 rental apartments were built in just over two decades. These buildings are aesthetically pleasing and thoughtfully designed, often boasting underground parking and a balcony for each unit.

With real estate becoming so valuable in Canada, especially in large cities like Toronto, private equity, asset managers, and real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been purchasing large numbers of these buildings for decades. Between 1980-2020, they purchased over 100,000 rental units, which is nearly 40% of the city's stock. These firms that make housing open to investors are otherwise known as ‘financial landlords.'

Because the buildings —but specifically the land they sit on— are simply treated as investments, they are being cast aside. Nine properties were approved to be torn down and replaced in 2020, and in 2023, there were 24 more approved for the same fate. According to CBC News, this means that 3,122 rental units —including 1,993 affordable rentals— have been approved for demolition, "demovicting" tenants and throwing their lives into uncertainty.

For a city to function well, the recommended rental vacancy rate for purpose-built rentals is 3% or higher. In Toronto, where these buildings are being torn down, the vacancy rate sits at about 1.7%.

For every building that still stands, there are stories of financial landlords pushing out longtime tenants, via 'renovictions' or other means. There is a huge financial incentive to do so. Two-bedroom units that turned over and brought in new tenants in 2023 saw rent go up 40%. An April 2025 study from researchers at University of Waterloo found that these financial firms charge rental rates that are 44% higher than the neighbourhood average.

The City of Toronto’s 2024 “Launching the Rental Housing Supply Program” report found that of the 48% of Toronto households that are renters, 40% of them live in unaffordable housing— compared to 26% of owners.

Renters in Toronto have watched the city become a place where having a comfortable, clean, safe place to live is a luxury. They wonder what could have been, if Toronto and the Province of Ontario had looked after the rental housing we already have, instead of allowing it to be torn down— and if we had continued to build it.

To me, the purpose-built rental housing that still stands represents lost opportunity and a lost way of life in our city.