Rent strikes are good. When tenants organize to withhold payment from landlords, they are resisting exploitation, fighting for fairness, raising class consciousness, and building solidarity. When more renters join the cause, it becomes even more powerful, serving as a force multiplier. And that is exactly what’s happening in Toronto right now.

Last Sunday, more than one hundred tenants at two Lawrence Avenue West buildings joined strikers at several other buildings in the city. Tenants at buildings on King and John Streets, and Thorncliffe Park, have been striking for months. Some residents at Thorncliffe are now facing eviction.

In June, Mitchell Thompson ran down the list of tenant grievances in Toronto at several properties. He also put the strikes in broader context. Toronto is facing a housing crisis, like much of Canada. In the wildly unaffordable city, poor and lower middle-class people are getting squeezed hard. They are desperate and tired through no fault of their own. At the same time, building owners are exploiting them, raising rents and providing subpar living conditions. This is class war, pure and simple.