Elect Socialism
Constructivist poster for The Rent Freeze

Policy No. 4 · Ministry of Housing

The Rent Freeze

Freeze the rent. Freeze it solid.

Critics say rent control shrinks the supply of housing. They point to San Francisco, where landlords under rent control cut their rental supply by 15%.1

They point to Berlin, where new rental listings fell about 56% after the 2020 rent freeze.2 They point to St. Paul, Minnesota, where building permits fell 86% in a year.3 They point to Stockholm, where the average wait for a rent-controlled apartment is 9.0 years, and 21.1 years in the inner city.4

They say 33 of 41 top economists rejected rent control.5 They quote the Swedish economist who called it, "next to bombing," the "most efficient technique so far known for destroying cities."6 Even Paul Krugman said economists barely argue about it.7

Here's what they won't tell you. None of those places were Alberta. Rent control has never been tried in Alberta. How can we know it won't work here unless we try?

Luckily, some Albertans have the courage to try. In December 2023, NDP housing critic Janis Irwin tabled Bill 205, which would cap rent increases at 2% a year for two years, then tie them to inflation, to a maximum of 5%, for two more.8 "Every Albertan deserves to have an affordable place to call home," she said.9

Two per cent! Adorable. It's only a cap, but it's a start, and Alberta needs a lot more policies like it. Tell your neighbours about Bill 205. Share it. Stick it on the fridge, right next to the freezer. Then we take the next step and freeze it solid.

Statistics from other countries don't apply to us. We need to stop reading about history and start repeating it.

The policyElect socialism. Freeze every rent in Alberta, then check back in 21.1 years.

YEARS OF WAITING: A STRONG COMMUNITY Average queue for a regular rental apartment, 2025. Stockholm inner city21.1 yearsStockholm city12.4 yearsStockholm region9.0 yearsCalgaryNo queue (5.0% vacancy). Disgraceful. LONGER = MORE SOLIDARITY Stockholm: Bostadsförmedlingen. Calgary: CMHC purpose-built vacancy, Oct 2025.
Every number on this chart is real. The chart itself is not our fault.

Real socialism has never been tried. In 2027.

The numbers (that don't matter)

We cite our sources. We just don't read them.

  1. Diamond, McQuade and Qian found that San Francisco landlords hit by a 1994 rent-control expansion cut their rental housing supply by 15%, and estimated that this supply loss caused a 5.1% citywide rent increase (working-paper version). American Economic Association / NBER (Rebecca Diamond, Timothy McQuade, Franklin Qian) · D13
  2. After Berlin's 2020 rent freeze took effect, the number of new rental ads posted per week fell by about 56% (from roughly 629 to 276 on average) while advertised rents dropped 7 to 11%, in the Hahn, Kholodilin and Waltl study. DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research); Management Science · D14
  3. After St. Paul, Minnesota's 2021 rent-control vote, the city council itself cited HUD data showing only 200 residential building permits through April 2022 versus 1,391 a year earlier (-86%), then amended the law in 2022 to exempt new construction for 20 years. City of Saint Paul, Minnesota (City Council) · D15
  4. Stockholm's Bostadsförmedlingen reports an average queue of 9.0 years to get a regular rental apartment through the queue in 2025, 12.4 years in Stockholm municipality and 21.1 years in the inner city, with 894,592 people registered. Bostadsförmedlingen i Stockholm AB (Stockholm municipal housing agency) · D18
  5. When the University of Chicago's IGM panel of top US economists was asked in 2012 whether rent control in places like New York and San Francisco had improved the amount and quality of affordable rental housing, 33 of 41 panelists disagreed (13 strongly) and only 1 agreed. Clark Center for Global Markets, University of Chicago Booth School of Business · D19
  6. Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck wrote that 'next to bombing, rent control seems in many cases to be the most efficient technique so far known for destroying cities' (The Political Economy of the New Left: An Outsider's View, Harper & Row, 1971, p. 39). Library of Economics and Liberty (Liberty Fund) · D20
  7. Paul Krugman wrote in a June 7, 2000 New York Times column ('A Rent Affair') that rent control is 'among the best-understood issues in all of economics, and—among economists, anyway—one of the least controversial.' Cascade Policy Institute (quoting The New York Times) · D21
  8. In December 2023, Alberta NDP housing critic Janis Irwin tabled Bill 205, a private member's bill that would cap rent increases at 2% a year for two years, then tie them to inflation (to a maximum of 5%) for two more years. Global News · R1
  9. Introducing Bill 205, NDP MLA Janis Irwin said: 'They were open to a temporary cap on auto insurance. So, you know, if they were willing to take action on skyrocketing auto rates, I'm hopeful that they'll be willing to do the same on skyrocketing rents.' Global News · R2
  10. Calgary's purpose-built vacancy rate was 5.0% in October 2025, the highest of the four cities, against 3.8% in Edmonton, 3.7% in Vancouver and 3.3% in Victoria; Vancouver's had more than doubled from 1.6% a year earlier. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation · D7

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