Toronto respite centre to close early for World Cup 2026, but unhoused individuals won’t be left in the cold: officials

The Better Living Centre in Toronto being used as a 24-hour winter respite location in January 2018. (City of Toronto)

The City of Toronto has confirmed that the winter respite facility at the Better Living Centre will be closing its doors a month early.

In an email, a spokesperson said the 24-hour site at Exhibition Place will stop accepting new admissions by mid-February and shut down operations entirely next month. The seasonal facility opened in mid-December.

“Due to pre-existing spring bookings for the site, the City of Toronto will be gradually concluding operations by March 15,” Elise von Scheel told CTV News.

Hughena Walsh, director of sales and marketing for Exhibition Place, confirmed that the Better Living Centre was licensed to the City of Toronto for its FIFA World Cup hosting duties, after it was awarded the rights in 2022.

However, she emphasized that FIFA is “not displacing the respite” and the city underscored that anyone currently staying at the 250-bed facility will be offered an alternative space in the shelter system.

The city noted that the timeline of this year’s operational “ramp down” is similar to the previous two years at this location.

The city’s Winter Services Plan for People Experiencing Homelessness runs from Nov. 15 to April 15.

This winter, it added 1,275 additional shelter and housing spaces. Although Toronto has seen a decrease in the number of people who need homelessness services since 2024, the City of Toronto said that as of late last year it is providing roughly 9,000 people each night.

Advocates weigh in on closure

Long-time Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe told CP24 that the City of Toronto is shortsighted in its decision to close the Better Living Centre respite a month early.

“The city does not ensure adequate safe shelter year long so it should have taken greater care to protect the Better Living Centre as an emergency shelter venue instead of office space for the FIFA circus,” she said.

Lorraine Lam, an organizer with the Shelter and Housing Justice Network, said Toronto’s promises don’t make sense.

“The city says they will offer the 250 people alternate space in the shelter stream: where? Why aren’t these spaces already available to all the others who are still stuck in the cold?,” she said.

“Warming centres were beyond 100 per cent capacity and the city just closed surge sites.”

Lam went on to say that the weather will still be cold in March, leaving the city’s most vulnerable residents out in the elements.

“One can get hypothermia in above zero degrees so the risk of cold injury is still very high. The needs of unhoused and vulnerable people constantly take backseat,” she said.

“All this in addition to the coming shelter closures of 545 Lakeshore and 5800 Yonge. Where are people supposed to go?!”