The North Star has obtained a photo of a letter addressed to Tony Irwin, president and CEO of the Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario (FRPO) from Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Rob Flack. Handwritten in blue ink, Flack thanks Irwin and the landlord lobbying group for their support of the Progressive Conservative party.
The letter, hand-signed by Flack, states that the FRPO supported the Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act, 2025, which was passed in June of this year. It goes on to thank Irwin and the FRPO for their support of the Ford government, which “could not have reached this milestone without the support of The Federation of Rental-Housing Providers of Ontario”.
Additionally, Flack encourages Irwin to reach out to his Senior Manager of Stakeholder Relations, Robert Morales.
The warm relations between the PCs and the FRPO goes further back than a single letter between the two. Given the direct representation landlords already have in Queen’s Park, The North Star investigated this history of the government’s collaboration with landlords during the housing crisis.
Lobbying and Legislation
Since 2017, Irwin and the board of directors at the FRPO have publicly donated a total of $135,831 to the Progressive Conservatives for their election campaigns. In turn, the government has deferred to their consultation and publicly thanked the FRPO for its support in developing and passing the legislation. In the May 15, 2025, session of the legislative assembly, while discussing Bill 17, Flack acknowledged, “Tony Irwin from the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, FRPO, who was unable to attend but very, very supportive of this bill.”
More recently, the Ontario government, in a press release regarding the controversial Bill 60, or the “Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025”, quoted Irwin’s support of the bill, in which he specifically welcomes the changes to the Landlord-Tenant Act:
“FRPO applauds the Ontario government for introducing measures that support timely and effective outcomes at the Landlord & Tenant Board and reduce barriers to purpose-built rental development. Together, these actions will help strengthen Ontario’s housing sector, support fairness for rental-housing providers and residents, and make it easier to bring much-needed rental homes to market. FRPO looks forward to working with the government to advance the successful implementation of these important initiatives.”
When pressed on whether the proposed bill provides “needed balance”, Irwin stammered and stated that “different people can view that differently. It’s not my belief that [Bill 60] takes away residents’ rights […] it’s uh, sorta tightening up some of the processes and procedures.”
Bill 60 is currently being rushed through the legislature. It proposes a plethora of new restrictions on tenants, while leaving landlords’ obligations completely untouched. New restrictions would include forcing tenants to pay 50% of arrears in order to raise new issues at an LTB hearing. This would remove the ability to raise new issues at the LTB on the day of the hearing, and halving the time to review or overturn eviction notices.
While the law initially proposed to abolish security of tenure—the right of tenants to abide by their previous lease once it expires on a month-to-month basis—the Tories backed down from that change due to widespread backlash.
Tenants absent from consultation
The province’s press release that quotes Irwin also features statements from government officials and industry groups such as the Building Industry and Land Development Association and the Road Builders Association. No tenants or tenant representatives were quoted.
On December 9, Irwin, Flack, and several executives, presidents, and financiers will be speaking at the Toronto Region’s Board of Trade “Out with the Old: New Paths to New Housing” event. Under “who should attend”, the evening is explicitly promoted to:
- Developers and builders (high-rise, mid-rise, missing middle, rental, modular, and greenfield)
- Real estate companies, REITs, banks, and private equity firms
- Federal, provincial, and municipal decision makers
- Urban planners, architects, and infrastructure builders
- Unions, trades organizations, and housing innovators
- Academics and thought leaders in urban planning and housing policy
Tickets for the event start at $299 for non-members.
The North Star reached out to both Rob Flack and Tony Irwin for comment on the relationship between landlords and the provincial government. Neither responded.
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