A new report from Ontario's Financial Accountability Officer (FAO), requested by Ted Hsu, MPP for Kingston and the Islands, confirms the Ford government is on track to spend less fighting homelessness even as thousands more Ontarians are pushed onto the street. MPP Dr. Adil Shamji, Ontario Liberal Critic for Housing, and MPP Lee Fairclough, Critic for Hospitals, Mental Health, Addictions and Homelessness, joined Hsu in response.

The FAO projects the known homeless population will rise to nearly 89,000 by 2028-29, up from 62,252 in 2022-23. At the same time, the number of households supported by provincial homelessness programs — emergency shelters, supportive housing, rent assistance and outreach — is set to fall from 204,876 in 2025-26 to 187,205 in 2028-29, as funding is cut by a quarter of a billion dollars. That is the wrong direction at the wrong time.

"I asked the FAO to update its work because the government was still relying on pre-pandemic numbers, and everything about housing and homelessness has changed since then," said Hsu. "The message is simple: the province is spending less while more people become homeless. Those numbers don't add up. This government does not have a handle on the problem."

"You cannot end homelessness without confronting the housing crisis that feeds it," said Shamji. "Ford promised to build homes and missed target after target, including for supportive housing that keeps people off the streets. This report reveals that worsening cuts and underfunding will only cause more people to fall into homelessness."

"What’s clear is homelessness is worsening all across the province. Four of the 10 service manager areas with the highest rates of homelessness were in Northern Ontario," said Fairclough. "Every dollar that Ontario fails to invest in upstream prevention translates to pressure on shelters, hospitals and frontline workers, particularly in Northern Ontario. Ontario needs a clear province-wide strategy to end homelessness."

The FAO's report makes clear Ontario is heading in the wrong direction — with homelessness rising as support falls away. Ontarians deserve to know how this government intends to respond.