Homelessness in Toronto has more than doubled since 2021, according to latest Street Needs Assessment

A new report says Toronto’s homelessness crisis is growing, with Black and Indigenous people being overrepresented among those on the street.

Homelessness has more than doubled in Toronto in the last three years, according to the city’s latest street needs assessment.

The 2024 Street Needs Assessment homelessness survey, which was conducted in the field last October and finalized this spring, found that an estimated 15,400 people were unhoused in Toronto last fall.

In April 2021, when the previous assessment was completed, that number was roughly 7,300 people.

The city is attributing this significant increase to a “wide range of issues,” notably a “lack of affordable housing, unmet health needs, insufficient income support and substance use struggles.” The COVID-19 pandemic also had a direct impact on the homelessness rates in the city, it said.

“This mirrors trends seen in Ontario and across Canada,” the municipality noted in a news release.

The number of homeless individuals staying in shelters or provincially administered sites as well as those who are unsheltered outdoors has remained consistent since 2018, it noted.

The municipality noted that it has seen a reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness since this data was collected, pointing to a decrease in refugee claimants in shelters, lower encampment numbers across the city, and people moving into permanent housing.

It should, however, be noted that the number of unhoused refugee claimants surveyed increased from 13 per cent to more than 50 per cent between the two surveys.

Late last year, Ombudsman Toronto released a scathing report on the city’s response to the refugee crisis, notably its now-reversed decision to turn refugee claimants and asylum seekers away from its emergency shelter system lacked fairness and caused harm.

On May 30, a proposed class action was launched against the City of Toronto on behalf of refugees, refugee claimants, and asylum seekers who were denied access to shelter beds between November 2022 and October 2023.

• Mayor Olivia Chow apologizes to refugees, asylum seekers who slept on Toronto streets

Certain groups overrepresented among city’s homeless population: survey

Another notable finding of the assessment is that certain groups continue to be overrepresented among those experiencing homelessness.

Among those surveyed, nine per cent identified as Indigenous, a community that makes up just three per cent of the city’s overall population, while 58 per cent of the city’s unhoused residents identified as being a member of the Black community, which represents just 10 per cent of Toronto’s population.

Also of note is the fact that the majority of those surveyed reported having one or more health issue such as mental health concerns, an illness or medical condition, or substance use.

The city said those surveyed indicated that the key factors that could have helped them avoid becoming homeless are housing affordability programs like rent-geared-to-income, advice on tenant legal rights, and support with employment or education.

The Street Needs Assessment, which the City of Toronto said is mandated as part of federal funding agreements, is a Toronto-wide point-in-time count and survey of people experiencing homelessness. It is used by the municipality to “inform planning and programming across the homelessness sector.”

The city said the data is key when it comes to the development of its five-year strategic plan to tackle homelessness, in partnership with other levels of government.

“The scope of the homelessness crisis requires thoughtful, strategic responses. (We are) focused on building new homes and shelters, bolstering support programs and reinforcing strong intergovernmental funding partnerships to address these challenges,” the city said, adding the findings of the survey outline the “need for targeted investments and specialized supports.”

One direct response is to build more affordable housing, support renters, and protect existing affordable rental housing stock, which the city said it is doing through its Housing 2020-2030 Action Plan. The city noted that in 2024 it approved approximately 6,600 rent-controlled, affordable, and rent-geared-to-income homes.

Another is an investment in up to 20 new shelters over the next decade in wards across Toronto. They are projected to save up to $33.6 million per site over 10 years compared to leased shelter hotels, the city said. So far, seven such sites have been selected. Additional locations are expected to be announced later this year.

“Toronto provides more shelter beds per capita than any other Canadian city – and has expanded its capacity by 60 per cent since 2021,” the city noted, adding that in 2024, 1,078 people living outside were referred into the shelter system, more than 4,300 people were housed, and 25,000 outreach visits were made to people experiencing homelessness.

“Up to 45 new front-line and outreach workers are being hired this year to continue this important work.”

Further, the city said it will be begin conducting a street needs assessment annually “to ensure decisions are being made with the most current information.” A full federal assessment will be carried out every three years, it added.