Ontario’s homelessness crisis is “at a tipping point,” the group representing most of the province’s municipalities is warning, as the recorded number of homeless people ticks towards 100,000.
A new report released by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario points to massive growth in the number of people experiencing homelessness, particularly in the southern parts of the province, and demands action from the Ford government.
According to the municipal association’s numbers, more than 81,000 people in Ontario experienced homelessness last year. That’s an increase of 51 per cent compared with the roughly 53,000 people recorded in 2016 and a 25 per cent increase since 2022.
“Eighty-thousand is a staggering number — it’s equal to a city the size of Peterborough,” AMO chair Robin Jones said. “Let’s understand this is the floor, not the ceiling of the issue.”
Roughly half the number of people recorded as homeless in Ontario last year were categorized as experiencing chronic homelessness, meaning they lived either in shelters …