Tent encampments on the rise in Toronto, appearing in places not seen before: city

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 8:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

The fig of tents acceptable up by unhoused radical successful Toronto is rising and encampments are appearing successful parks and ravines extracurricular of downtown wherever they haven't been seen before, a elder metropolis authoritative says.

"We're seeing homelessness successful places we haven't traditionally seen it. That's extracurricular of the downtown halfway successful communities close crossed this city," Gordon Tanner, wide manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning connected Monday. 

"This is fundamentally an affordability issue."

In a missive to council that answered a councillor's administrative inquiry, the metropolis said determination were 283 encampments in Toronto connected March 14. Data released past twelvemonth shows determination were 202 encampments connected March 15, 2024. The metropolis defines 1 structure arsenic an encampment.

With Toronto experiencing a continued lodging and homelessness crisis, Tanner said the increasing fig of tents is simply a motion that radical are incapable to entree affordable and supportive housing. He said the metropolis needs much lodging to bring radical indoors.

"People, erstwhile they don't person a spot to go, trust connected their ain means and sometimes that means putting up a structure and being successful a nationalist spot similar a park," helium said.

Tanner said the metropolis is taking enactment to find lodging for radical successful encampments. He said it has a 10-year superior program to physique 20 caller shelters successful Toronto, a program was brought to assembly past summer, helium said. The archetypal structure arsenic portion of that program is expected to unfastened successful 2027. 

As well, helium said the metropolis has teams of unit connected the ground, moving with unhoused people, offering them entree to enactment services, "treating them with dignity, empathy and compassion" and trying to get them into lodging arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. Staff members are besides connecting with unhoused people on nationalist transit, helium said.

"In the meantime, during this lodging concern we're in, we proceed to spot the maturation of encampments each crossed the city," helium said.

'Homelessness doesn't discriminate'

Tanner said unhoused radical surviving successful parks, ravines and secluded areas, specified arsenic parts of the Don Valley, isn't new. He added it happens much successful the summertime erstwhile the upwind is warmer and helium said sometimes radical acceptable up tents successful secluded areas due to the fact that they privation to beryllium distant from engaged downtown parks.

"We're seeing much of it successful antithetic parts of the city," helium said.

Tanner said determination are nary areas of Toronto that don't person unhoused people.

"I deliberation homelessness doesn't discriminate. Anyone and everyone could acquisition homelessness with a missed wage cheque oregon different challenging concern successful their life. These issues hap close crossed the city."

Elise von Scheel, spokesperson for the city, said successful an email connected Monday that caller national backing volition alteration Toronto to grow its thoroughfare outreach teams who help radical surviving outside.

"The champion outcomes for susceptible individuals and surrounding communities travel from bringing radical indoors wherever social, lodging and wellness services are available. The metropolis remains committed to providing that assistance to arsenic galore radical arsenic possible," von Scheel said.

According to the city, outreach unit referred astir 1,078 radical surviving extracurricular into the structure strategy past year. Of this number, 848 radical were from encampments. 

Rise successful structure encampments not surprising, advocator says

Greg Cook, an outreach idiosyncratic astatine Sanctuary Toronto, said the emergence successful the fig of encampments is not astonishing given rising rents, the deficiency of rent power connected caller units, fig of evictions, wages and income that are too debased comparative to precocious outgo of surviving successful Toronto and the deficiency of disposable structure spaces.

In February alone, helium said metropolis information shows that an mean of 101 radical nightly were turned distant from the city's structure system.

Cook said encampments are besides appearing successful areas wherever they haven't previously because the metropolis has cleared larger encampments. Clearing displaces radical and scatters them distant from services, helium said.

"When you wide ample encampments, radical are conscionable going to be more isolated and much dispersed out," helium said.

According to the city's ain data, 10,241 radical utilized the city's structure strategy past Thursday and determination were 11,721 "actively homeless" radical successful Toronto successful the past 3 months.