WE need your help

Skyrocketing costs and a growing shortage of housing is making it impossible for the people that power our cities - nurses, teachers, retail and restaurant staff, tradespeople, transit operators, municipal workers, young families, and many more - to stay.

Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to join a growing cadre of corporate, nonprofit, government and community leaders, and residents like you, determined to restore affordability to our region.

accept the mission

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Field Agent Report

“Emma”, Unemployed

I’m really worried about my future because everything is so expensive. 

At 32 years old, I am currently unemployed and actively searching for permanent work. I live with my parents in Mississauga because I can’t afford rent anywhere in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). 

I didn’t realize how hard it would be to find a permanent position after leaving school. I have a bachelor’s degree in science, but so far, I’ve only been able to land temporary, contract work, which has led to periods of unemployment. 

I also worry that I’ll never be stable enough to move forward with my life and start a family. My partner also lives with their parents, and even together, we simply cannot afford rent, let alone find a place with enough space for children. The reality of our situation—along with the constant pressure of housing costs and the lack of a clear path forward—leaves me feeling deeply frustrated. I’m not going to lie – I don’t feel hopeful about my future.  

That’s why I joined Mission: Affordable. I’m actively involved in finding solutions to this issue. I consistently reach out to municipal government officials and city councillors to advocate for change and I’ve joined non-profit organizations in their efforts to improve housing affordability. While I recognize that progress is being made, I also know that much more needs to be done, and more players need to come together to create real, lasting change.  

This work feels deeply personal. The future I want is out of reach right now, and I need to change that for myself and others.

accept the mission

Land Acknowledgement Statement

CivicAction acknowledges that the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is situated upon traditional and current Indigenous territories that include the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, Anishnaabeg, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. We believe in the spirit of the “Dish with one spoon” concept – that land can be shared to the mutual benefit of all its inhabitants.

Today, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area is still home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island (North America) and we recognize the historical oppression and inequalities that they continue to face.

We also recognize the non-settlers and the dis-planted, such as people of African descent who were brought here forcibly and enslaved and who continue to face oppression and inequality on land that is not their own.

Depending on our ancestry, we each have different relationships to the land on which we live. In our role as a civic convener, and in the spirit of reconciliation, CivicAction is committed to rebuilding and renewing respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, we support Indigenous sovereignty and we support the recommendations of The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

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