The mayors of the 29 largest cities in Ontario are urging the province to declare a state of emergency due to what they describe as a “community safety and humanitarian crisis” caused by homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction.
The Ontario Big City Mayors passed a motion unanimously on Friday, calling for increased funding from the province and greater collaboration with cities and other stakeholders.
According to the mayors caucus, municipalities covered over 50% of the $4.1 billion spent on homelessness and housing programs in 2024.
Marianne Meed Ward, the mayor of Burlington, Ont., and chair of the caucus, emphasized that it is unsustainable for cities to continue shouldering such financial burdens and that they have already exhausted their resources.
She stressed that addressing homelessness should not rely solely on property tax revenue, but municipalities are stepping up because they refuse to see people suffer on the streets.
In response, a spokesperson for the minister of municipal affairs and housing highlighted the province’s significant investments in addressing homelessness.
Ontario is allocating $75.5 million towards constructing supportive and affordable housing and expanding shelter capacities, in addition to providing $1.7 billion to municipalities for enhancing supportive housing, including through the Homelessness Prevention Program.
The province is also investing close to $550 million in establishing 28 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs, known as HART hubs.
“Our government is taking unprecedented measures to equip municipalities with the necessary resources they have requested,” stated Michael Minzak.
Some of these hubs have replaced supervised drug consumption sites that were forced to shut down earlier this year due to a provincial law prohibiting their proximity to schools and daycares.
The mayors emphasized that the current level of spending is insufficient to fully tackle the homelessness issue, citing a report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario that calls for an $11 billion investment over the next decade to address homelessness.
“This crisis is escalating,” noted Toronto Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie. “While we appreciate some support from the provincial government, it falls short. Municipalities cannot combat this challenge in isolation.”
