Homelessness at a tipping point in Ontario – a systemic crisis that requires bold, coordinated action

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) today (Jan. 9/25) released a comprehensive and somewhat discouraging report titled “Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis”, that “… reveals the unprecedented and growing toll of homelessness on individuals, families, communities, and governments.”

The study’s findings indicate that Ontario is at a tipping point in its homelessness crisis and, when combined with overwhelming food bank usage increases, the future looks grim.

More than 80,000 Ontarians were known to be homeless in 2024, a number that has grown by more than 25 per cent since 2022.

  • In Northern Ontario, known homelessness has risen by an estimated 204% since 2016, growing from 1,771 people to 5,377 people in 2024
  • Homelessness in non-northern areas is projected to grow to between 117,448 and 267,633 people by 2035
  • Refugees experienced a 600 per cent increase in chronic homelessness since 2020, underscoring the challenges posed by immigration policies that fail to provide adequate support for housing and integration.

Homelessness in Ontario has grown by over 50% in eight years, with an estimated 12% increase since 2023.  Between 2016 and 2024, the estimated number of people experiencing known homelessness rose from 53,930 to 81,515—a 51% increase. From 2023 to 2024, known homelessness increased by an estimated 12%.

Known Homelessness Definition: people known to the homelessness-serving system, through service provision or data collection and prioritization activities, such as a By-Name List (BNL), Point-in-Time (PiT) count, or other tools. This primarily includes people experiencing sheltered or unsheltered homelessness—those staying in emergency shelters, hotels, or unsheltered locations like tents or outdoor spaces. Occasionally, a small proportion of individuals experiencing hidden homelessness may also be included, depending on how service managers reported their data.

Without significant intervention, homelessness in Ontario could double in the next decade, and reach nearly 300,000 people in an economic downturn.

The crisis stems from decades of deep under-investment in affordable housing, income support and mental health and addictions treatment, combined with escalating economic pressures on communities.

Municipal governments are tasked with responding to immediate needs while trying to deal with provincial programming downloads and infrastructure gaps that limit their ability to address long-term solutions.

Communities are deeply affected, with individuals and families enduring the trauma of homelessness and neighbourhoods saying that long-term homelessness and people living outdoors are unacceptable, demanding urgent action from governments.

The report proposes a fundamentally new approach that focuses on long-term housing solutions over temporary emergency measures and enforcement. AMO urges provincial and federal governments to take significant, long-term action on affordable housing, mental health and addictions services, and income supports to fix homelessness and improve communities’ economic foundations and quality of life.

To ready the full report, CLICK HERE.