"We Reject Electoral Politics"
Why one of Canada's biggest tenant unions stopped looking to politicians for change...
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The Vancouver Tenants Union (VTU) were recent guests on the Blueprints of Disruption podcast (Episode 176). VTU’s membership sits around 3,000 tenants, many of them mobilizing on the west end of Vancouver, often in neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of rentals on the continent. VTU chapters continue to launch, and they’ve got campaigns running against every type of landlord imaginable.
Needless to say, the folks at VTU have learned a lot of lessons over a decade of activism. Much of this is reflected in their Basis of Unity, one of the tenant union’s ‘foundational’ documents. We refer to it so many times in the discussion that it became the title of the episode. One particular declaration amongst that revolutionary set of values that really got my attention:
“We reject electoral politics. Our power is wasted when we direct it towards reformist compromises with capital and real estate power. Power is never conceded from above, only seized from below.”
As a disillusioned former partisan, believe me, this is a sentiment I understand. We don’t all get there the same way, but there will be parts of their journey that many of us will recognize.
A lot of energy spent getting nowhere…
Founded over a decade ago, the VTU spent years organizing before they decided to hit the reset button. They had hit a point where membership had started to decline, and years of work hadn’t improved the material conditions of tenants in their communities. It wasn’t the easy choice, but they took a deep look at their approach and their goals and thoughtfully crafted Basis of Unity. As Ben Ger, a longtime organizer with the group explained, the document reads as a history lesson that refocuses their energy and plots a new way forward.
Even though you could describe the Basis of Unity as a shared set of values, that doesn’t mean everyone fully agrees with all the points within. The rejection of electoral avenues can be one of the harder sells, especially for newer members to the VTU, who haven’t had the years of experience dealing with City Council, of winning incremental changes only to see them go unenforced, and the burnout that came with all of that.
We see this in partisan politics as well, don’t we? People want to (maybe even need to) start at the logical beginning. After all, we’re told that ‘free and fair’ elections are the definition of democracy, and that great change can come through them. Most people also still believe that progressive politicians can and will act in the electorate’s best interest. Sadly, we have enough evidence that simply isn’t true, but folks seem to have to experience it first hand before they’re willing to skip that step.
So, what did the VTU learn that made them reject electoral politics?
First of all, they learned they weren’t the only ones working to influence politicians. Despite all their best efforts to sway councillors and gain the support of MLAs, it was their opponents, such as developers and real estate speculators, who held real influence over the elected. Between election time donations and the intertwined financial relationships they maintain with municipalities, lobbyists wield most of the influence over housing policies.
They also realized it wasn’t just the politicians that served as a barrier to legislative changes. Even when activists could mount successful campaigns and pass tenant friendly by-laws, the bureaucracy at City Hall would all but nullify their work. The experts tasked with carrying out the legislated changes would claim it unfeasible or wouldn’t prioritize enforcement.
Instead of being able to celebrate victories, tenants felt like they kept having to start again at square one – again, pleading with those in power to do the bare minimum. This experience is likely all too familiar to anyone who has been working these avenues for change as we craft the most convincing argument, gather the strongest data, and bombard the elected with calls for help.
We need to ask ourselves: are our valuable resources best spent appealing to politicians?
Rather than continuing to appeal to politicians, VTU found meaningful success when they started to mount campaigns that applied pressure directly on landlords and built power from below. Taking matters into their own hands and standing together against evictions empowered tenants far more than trying to secure favour with the same people who helped craft the ‘housing crisis’ in the first place.
Asura Enkhbayar, tenant organizer with VTU says he refuses to appeal to those who “put the current system in place, who designed it this way”.
(Clip from Episode 176: Basis of Unity)
Whether from an ideological perspective or from a cost benefit analysis, it's hard to argue that we’ve gotten our ‘money’s worth’ out of participating in electoral politics in Canada. How long will we maintain this cycle of rallying people around legislative reforms, only to have the actual conditions on the ground worsen?
This may be an uncomfortable position going into yet another election labelled as the most important of our times. Yet, that’s the conundrum we are finding ourselves in. No matter who wins the vote on April 28th, it will be an uphill battle for tenants in Canada. So, whether we all end up with a Basis of Unity as bold as the VTU, or not, we’re clearly at a point where a reassessment of our tactics and a repurposing of our energy seems past due.
Related Episode: Basis of Unity - Vancouver Tenants’ Union
Call to Action
Other Related Episodes
Developers Democracy - A look into the impact developers have on politics in Ontario.
Shifting Gears: Climate Justice Toronto. Another story of an organization reassessing their purpose and finding a new way forward.
More Resources
Basis of Unity, Vancouver Tenants Union
City staff come out against anti-renoviction bylaw, CBC (Jan 9, 2025)
Landlord-tenant disputes still lack enforcement with 'enforcement act' registry, says renter, Vancouver is Awesome (Nov 8, 2023)
Follow the Money, Horizon Ottawa
Photo in header: Vancouver Tenants Union.
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