Union Station security targeting homeless people ahead of World Cup: Toronto group

A worker walks through Union Station in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

Community advocates allege homeless people have been facing escalating violence at the hands of security guards at Toronto’s Union Station in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup tournament.

Members of the Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union rallied Tuesday at Berczy Park near Canada’s largest transit hub to protest what they called a pattern of displacement and intimidation.

The group that includes people facing homelessness and their supporters said it interviewed about 50 people at Union Station, some of whom reported being beaten by security guards, dragged out of bathroom stalls and were subjected to verbal abuse.

The group detailed some of the allegations in a report, including the experience of one respondent who said he was turned away from a city shelter and returned to Union Station where he was assaulted by a security officer, leaving him with injuries that now make it difficult for him to walk.

City of Toronto spokesperson Russell Baker did not directly address the assault allegations made against the city’s security guards, but said Tuesday the municipality is committed to respectful conduct, adding that people can submit complaints via the city’s website.

On Wednesday, the city’s director of homelessness initiatives and prevention said municipal staff follow a protocol approved by city council that lays out how to respond to encampments in a “clear, co-ordinated and consistent way.”

Milton Barrera said the goal is to connect people with the supports they need, including shelter and housing, through year-round outreach.

During the World Cup, “areas around venues expected to see higher activity will receive additional outreach attention, consistent with how the city manages other major events,” Barrera said in an email.

“The focus will remain on supporting the safety and well-being of people living outdoors, as well as residents, businesses and visitors.”

David Roberts, an urban studies professor at the University of Toronto, said the situation at Union Station is part of a long history of cities seeking to clean up their image before major events.

“What we’re seeing is policing. Policing to push people out, push people away from the gaze of the tourists or the media so that it looks like we have a happy city and one that is without poverty,” Roberts said at Tuesday’s rally.

Toronto is preparing to host six World Cup games, starting with Canada’s opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 12, and hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to pour in for the tournament.

A 2009 UN special rapporteur study mentioned in the advocates’ report listed examples of homeless people being subjected to forced removal and relocation in cities worldwide before mega-events like the World Cup and the Olympics.

“Unhoused people are not being removed because they are dangerous. They are being removed because their presence conflicts with the image FIFA demands,” the Toronto advocates wrote.

‘Where are people supposed to go?’

Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker with Toronto’s Shelter and Housing Justice Network, claims that the displacement of homeless people from encampments has ramped up this year ahead of the World Cup in an attempt to beautify the city.

“Where are people supposed to go? There’s nowhere, right? Shelters are full,” she said. “That’s why people are finding respite in places like Union Station.”

She described it as a “cruel game of human whack-a-mole” as people living on the street are forced to relocate to other public spaces, losing friends and access to other resources that may have been keeping them safe in the process.

For Lam, the situation brings up memories of the summer of 2015, when the Pan American Games were held in Toronto. She claims police increasingly arrested homeless people at the time to get them off the streets during the international sporting event.

“This idea of trying to, quote, ‘clean up the streets for tourism,’ again, doesn’t actually address why people are unhoused in the first place,” she said. “All the money that we spend on that could actually be really successful money spent on housing and long-term solutions.”

The Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union is demanding that security guards at Union Station be replaced by harm reduction workers and that 24/7 respite centres be made available during and in the lead-up to the World Cup.

The group is also calling for an end to the closures of shelters and supervised consumption sites, arguing that without places to go, more and more homeless people will seek shelter in places like Union Station.

Baker, the city’s spokesperson, said Toronto launched a pilot project in April with Metrolinx, the Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto police and other partners to connect vulnerable individuals in Union Station with shelter, health care and other supports.

Metrolinx, which places special constables in Union Station, says it has increased resources to keep the transit system safe, including bringing on more front-line staff. The agency did not directly comment on the allegations of escalating violence.

The City of Vancouver, which is also hosting several matches for the World Cup, issued a human rights plan for the tournament that allows homeless people to shelter in parks overnight, but requires them to pack up their belongings during the day so public space can be usable.

Vancouver deputy city manager Sandra Singh said authorities will not ask people sleeping outside to leave their neighbourhoods.

The City of Toronto is also developing a human rights action plan for the World Cup, based on existing human rights and anti-discrimination policies, said Barrera, the director of homelessness initiatives.

“We’re working with partners to finalize the plan and expect to share it publicly in the coming weeks.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2026.

Kathryn Mannie, The Canadian Press