Who Owns the City? Pension Fund Capitalism and the Parkdale Rent Strike

By Jamie Shilton Canadian public pension funds play an increasingly significant role as institutional investors, including in the domestic residential property market. Some scholars have suggested that pension fund investments of this kind result in a form of public ownership, sometimes characterized as “pension fund socialism.” However, the actual character of pension fund investment in Canada is much more akin to a financialized pension fund capitalism, with public pension funds adopting investment strategies consistent with private financial market actors. In...