Ontario Homelessness Crisis Worsens, Nearly 85,000 People Affected in 2025: AMO

AMO data shows the Ontario homelessness crisis is accelerating, with rural and Northern communities facing the fastest growth.

TORONTO — Nearly 85,000 Ontarians experienced homelessness in 2025, according to newly released data from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), marking an eight per cent increase from 2024 and a 50 per cent rise since 2021.

The findings, released January 13, show the crisis continues to escalate despite recent investments, with rural and northern communities experiencing the fastest growth. Rural homelessness increased by more than 30 per cent in the past year, while Northern Ontario saw a rise of over 37 per cent, highlighting growing pressures beyond large urban centres.

The update was conducted by HelpSeeker Technologies, in partnership with AMO, the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA), and the Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association (NOSDA).

Encampments Increasing Across Ontario

While targeted efforts have reduced some large urban encampments, the report notes a growing number of smaller, dispersed encampments across the province. Nearly 2,000 encampments were reported in 2025, up from 1,400 in 2024, reflecting how homelessness is spreading into more communities.

AMO President Robin Jones said the findings confirm warnings made in AMO’s 2025 report.

“No one in Ontario should accept the scale and scope of homelessness described in this report,” Jones said, adding that 5,000 more people became homeless in just the past year, and that economic uncertainty could push even more Ontarians into housing insecurity.

Risk of Doubling Without Intervention

AMO warns that without significant policy changes, homelessness in Ontario could double by 2035, potentially reaching nearly 300,000 people during an economic downturn.

The association points to decades of underinvestment in deeply affordable housing, income supports, and mental health and addictions services, compounded by rising costs and economic pressures. Ontario remains the only province where responsibility for social housing has been downloaded to municipalities, a structure AMO says is unsustainable.

Municipalities invested approximately $2 billion in housing and homelessness programs in 2025, but AMO stresses that property tax revenue was never intended to fund social housing systems.

Call for Long-Term Solutions

AMO is urging the provincial and federal governments to move beyond short-term enforcement and emergency responses, and instead focus on long-term housing solutions.

Among its key recommendations:

• $11 billion over 10 years for capital investments to build more than 75,000 affordable and supportive housing units, alongside stronger prevention measures

• $2 billion over eight years to rapidly house people currently living in encampments

• Continued federal funding through the National Housing Strategy, including programs such as the Canada–Ontario Housing Benefit

• Better coordination across all levels of government to track outcomes, align services, and ensure accountability from investment to impact

“We can solve this crisis,” Jones said, “but only if all orders of government work together to address housing, mental health, addictions, and income supports in a meaningful and sustained way.”

The full report and background materials are available through AMO.

About the Association of Municipalities of Ontario
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario represents Ontario’s 444 municipalities, advocating on shared challenges and strengthening local governments through policy leadership, training, and services.

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