Toronto’s homeless population surges beyond double since 2021

Demetris Vohaitis - LJI Reporter
The number of homeless individuals in Canada’s largest city has more than doubled over a three-year period, according to Toronto’s newly published Street Needs Assessment (SNA) report, deepening concerns over the city’s ongoing housing and affordability crisis.
The data, compiled in October 2024, estimates that more than 15,400 people were experiencing homelessness in Toronto at that time, a stark increase from the approximately 7,300 people counted in April 2021. Among them, 1,615 were found to be living outdoors, often in makeshift encampments scattered across parks, underpasses, and ravines.
Municipal officials and housing advocates cite a confluence of systemic factors behind the surge, including rising housing costs, limited access to affordable units, underfunded income assistance programs, mental health and addiction challenges, and a fragmented healthcare system. As the report notes, the spike “mirrors broader trends across Ontario and Canada,” exacerbated by the socioeconomic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not just a Toronto story, it’s a national emergency,” said a senior official with the City’s Shelter, Support and Housing Administration. “The pressures that built up during and after the pandemic are still playing out in our shelter system and on our streets.”
Each night, the city’s shelter network now accommodates between 9,000 and 10,000 individuals, a figure that has stretched resources to the brink. Despite the scale-up of services, shelters remain at or above full capacity, with demand consistently outpacing supply. Advocates describe the system as being in a state of “managed crisis”.
Nevertheless, municipal authorities point to recent signs of cautious progress. According to the report, more than 4,300 people were moved into permanent housing last year, a figure that includes many individuals who had previously been living in shelters or rough-sleeping. In addition, 1,078 people living outdoors were successfully referred into the shelter system. Officials attribute some of this shift to a decline in the number of refugee claimants occupying shelter beds, as well as the gradual dismantling of large encampments.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who has made housing affordability a central pillar of her administration, stated in remarks published by Toronto Star that “bold provincial and federal intervention is urgently needed” to stem the crisis. “Municipalities cannot shoulder this burden alone,” she emphasized, pointing to the city’s limited taxation powers compared to the scale of the need.
The findings of the 2024 SNA arrive amid broader scrutiny over Canada’s housing market, which has seen record inflation in rents and home prices. According to Reuters, more than 235,000 Canadians experienced homelessness at some point in 2023, a figure described by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness as “a moral failure of national proportions.”
Experts across international agencies have noted that Toronto’s situation is reflective of trends in major urban centres globally, where post-pandemic economic strain, migration flows, and unequal access to mental health care have triggered an uptick in unsheltered populations.
Still, Toronto’s SNA calls for “strategic and multi-sectoral responses,” underscoring the need for intergovernmental cooperation and sustainable investments in affordable housing, social services, and healthcare.
“Progress is possible,” the report concludes, “but it demands urgent, coordinated, and adequately funded action.”
No federal or provincial ministry had issued an immediate response at the time of publication.

‍