New AMO study: More than 85,000 Ontarians were homeless in 2025

TORONTO, Jan. 13, 2026 /CNW/ - Today, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) released updated data on homelessness in Ontario. As predicted in AMO's groundbreaking work in 2025, without meaningful and collective intervention, the crisis continues to grow.

Nearly 85,000 Ontarians experienced homelessness in 2025, up eight per cent from 2024. The figure also represents a 50 per cent increase since 2021.

Homelessness continues to grow the fastest in rural and northern communities. Rural homelessness was up by more than 30 per cent last year. In Northern Ontario, it grew by more than 37 per cent over the last year.

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).

"No one in Ontario should accept the scale and scope of homelessness described in this report," said Robin Jones, AMO President. "Our 2025 report made it clear that homelessness would only get worse unless we tackled the root causes. The situation today is even more dire. Since last January, there are 5,000 more Ontarians who are homeless. More are at risk, given the economic uncertainty. Our social safety net is at its breaking point, and only a joint effort by all levels of government can save it."

While dedicated investments and actions have dealt with a number of large urban encampments, there are small and dispersed encampments across Ontario – nearly 2,000 were reported in 2025 compared to 1,400 in 2024.

Without significant intervention, homelessness in Ontario could double by 2035, and reach nearly 300,000 people in an economic downturn.

"We need the provincial government to lead with meaningful action, supported by federal investment, to protect individuals, communities and our collective prosperity," Jones added. "We can solve this crisis, but we need to work together."

The crisis stems from decades of underinvestment in deeply affordable housing, income support and mental health and addictions treatment, combined with escalating economic pressures on communities.

Ontario is the only province where responsibility for social housing has been downloaded to municipalities. They are doing their part. Municipal investment in housing and homelessness programs has grown significantly in recent years, totalling $2 billion in 2025.

Recent provincial and federal investments are a good start, but they must be built upon further. Municipal property tax revenue is not a sustainable way to pay for housing and homelessness programs and was never intended for this purpose.

Temporary fixes and enforcement will not solve the problem. AMO urges provincial and federal governments to take significant, long-term action on affordable housing, mental health and addictions services, and income supports to fix homelessness and improve local economies and quality of life for all Ontarians.

AMO's recommendations

As per AMO's 2025 report, Ontario needs a fundamentally new approach that focuses on long-term housing solutions over temporary emergency measures and enforcement:

• An additional $11 billion over 10 years would  focus on capital investments to develop more than 75,000 new affordable and supportive housing units, as well as increased funding on prevention efforts.
• To ensure that current encampment residents are quickly and appropriately housed, Ontario needs to invest an additional $2 billion over eight years.

AMO further recommends:

• Continued federal funding through the National Housing Strategy to maintain critical programs like the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.
• Collaboration amongst all orders of Government to ensure our homelessness and housing dollars are having the biggest impact, including coordinating data and outcomes across programs, connecting services, and tracking every dollar from investment to impact.

The full report and backgrounder provide a detailed analysis and actionable solutions for governments and stakeholders.

About AMO

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario aims to make municipal governments stronger and more effective through advocacy, training and events, and business services. Through AMO, Ontario's 444 municipalities work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges.

Visit AMO's website

SOURCE Association of Municipalities of Ontario

For more information: Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact, 416-729-5425, [email protected]