Key Takeaways:
- The mayors of Ontario’s 29 largest cities are calling on the province to declare a state of emergency due to a "community safety and humanitarian crisis" caused by homelessness, mental health, and addiction.
- Municipalities have covered over 50% of the $4.1 billion spent on homelessness and housing programs in 2024, which is unsustainable.
- The mayors are urging the province to provide more funding and engage more actively with cities and other stakeholders to address the issue.
- The province has already invested $75.5 million in supportive and affordable housing, $1.7 billion in supportive housing, and $550 million in homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs.
- The mayors believe that the current spending is not enough to fully address the issue and are calling for an investment of $11 billion over the next 10 years to end homelessness.
Introduction to the Crisis
The mayors of Ontario’s 29 largest cities have come together to urge the province to declare a state of emergency due to a growing crisis of homelessness, mental health, and addiction. This crisis has been deemed a "community safety and humanitarian crisis" by the mayors, who are calling on the province to take immediate action to address the issue. The mayors, who are part of the Ontario Big City Mayors caucus, have passed a motion unanimously, urging the province to provide more funding and engage more actively with cities and other stakeholders to find a solution.
The Financial Burden on Municipalities
The mayors are concerned that municipalities are shouldering too much of the financial burden when it comes to addressing homelessness and housing programs. According to the mayors, municipalities have covered over 50% of the $4.1 billion spent on these programs in 2024. The caucus chair, Marianne Meed Ward, the mayor of Burlington, Ont., has stated that it is not sustainable for cities to continue funding at this rate, as they have already "dug deep" into their resources. The mayors believe that addressing homelessness should not depend on property tax dollars, but they are committing the resources because it is "simply unacceptable" to let people suffer on the streets.
The Province’s Response
A spokesman for the minister of municipal affairs and housing has stated that the province has already made significant investments to respond to homelessness. The province is spending $75.5 million to build supportive and affordable housing and create more shelter spaces, in addition to $1.7 billion provided to municipalities to improve supportive housing. The province is also spending close to $550 million to create 28 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs, or HART hubs. However, the mayors believe that this spending is not nearly enough to fully address the issue. The HART hubs are a new initiative, and some of them have replaced sites that previously offered supervised drug consumption but were forced to close earlier this year due to an Ontario law that bans such sites from being located within 200 meters of schools and daycares.
The Need for More Funding
The mayors are calling for a significant increase in funding to address the issue of homelessness. Citing a report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the mayors caucus has stated that there is a need to invest $11 billion towards ending homelessness over the next 10 years. This is a significant increase from the current spending, and the mayors believe that it is necessary to fully address the issue. Toronto Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie has stated that the current spending is not enough, and that municipalities cannot solve the problem alone. The mayors are urging the province to take a more active role in addressing the issue and to provide the necessary funding to support their efforts.
Conclusion and Next Steps
The mayors of Ontario’s 29 largest cities are calling on the province to take immediate action to address the growing crisis of homelessness, mental health, and addiction. The mayors believe that the current spending is not enough to fully address the issue and are calling for a significant increase in funding over the next 10 years. The province has already made some investments, but the mayors believe that more needs to be done. The mayors are urging the province to engage more actively with cities and other stakeholders to find a solution to this complex problem. It remains to be seen how the province will respond to the mayors’ call to action, but it is clear that something needs to be done to address the growing crisis of homelessness in Ontario.
