The Balanced Supply of Housing presented a Research in Progress webinar, Holding Ground: BIPOC CLTs and Resisting Gentrification on Wednesday, March 19 2025. Emma Ezvan from University of Toronto’s School of Cities and Jane O’Brien Davis from the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts (CNCLT) shared insights from their recently published reports in BSH’s Policy Report and Profile Series on Canadian CLTs.
Read the full reports here:
- Community Land Trusts in Canada: Responses and Resistance to Gentrification
- Reclaim, Remain: Community Land Trusts Led by Racialized Communities in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Nova Scotia
About the Speakers
Dominique Russell, who introduced this webinar, is a writer, activist, scholar and teacher. She founded Friends of Kensington Market in 2013 and is also one of the founders of the Kensington Market Community Land Trust (KMCLT) where she currently serves as Co-Director. Recently, she worked with CNCLT as a Research Manager, and contributed to the Policy Report and Paper Series on Canadian CLTs with the Balanced Supply of Housing. With a PhD in Hispanic Studies, she is also a respected author and has taught at UBC, York, Western, and Brock University.
Jane O’Brien Davis presented her paper Reclaim, Remain, co-written with Nat Pace. Jane is a CLT Specialist with the Canadian Network of Community Land Trusts (CNCLT), where she works to grow CLTs throughout Canada with technical assistance, capacity-building, and advocacy. With her background in urban planning and critical geography, Jane is committed to advancing community-led housing solutions.
Emma Ezvan presented her paper, Responses and Resistance to Gentrification, co-authored with Susannah Bunce. Emma is a PhD Candidate in Planning at the University of Toronto. Her main research area is gentrification and community displacement. Her doctoral thesis examines post-Covid transnational gentrification in Mexico City.
