Homelessness in the North is double the provincial average

Published by: the Manitoulin Expositor
Author: Expositor Staff
January 21, 2026

ESPANOLA—A new report finds that Northern Ontario’s rapidly rising homelessness crisis now poses a direct risk to the region’s long-term economic growth, workforce and health systems but that the trend can be reversed with a relatively modest, targeted investment, notes the Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board.

The report, ‘Protecting Northern Ontario for 1.3 cents on the dollar: Housing and health integration to support a $34.6 billion economy,’ examines how the integration of housing and health infrastructure supports the region’s economy. The study, building upon the results of the January 2025 report ‘Municipalities Under Pressure: The Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis,’ shows that under current conditions, homelessness in Northern Ontario will more than double by 2035, placing increasing pressure on emergency departments, shelters, corrections and local labour markets.

The study was conducted by HelpSeeker Technologies, in partnership with the Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association (NOSDA) and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario.

This analysis builds on the Ontario-wide housing and homelessness investment case set out in the 2025 and 2026 Municipalities Under Pressure reports, which identified that an approximate $11 billion housing investment is required to change homelessness trajectories. Those reports also noted that housing investment alone would not produce durable outcomes without integration with other systems, including health. The scenarios presented in the report examine how housing investment performs under those conditions.

Analysis in the report demonstrates that investing in earlier intervention, combined with housing across the continuum and operating funding for health and housing retention, will lead to faster stabilization of the housing sector and fewer people entering homelessness. According to the report, this stabilization investment would be approximately $435 million or the equivalent of about 1.3 cents for every dollar generated by Northern Ontario’s economy.

The investment scenarios examine how different investment choices affect homelessness over time under Northern Ontario conditions, the modelling tests three investment approaches over a 10-year period.

“The drastic increase in Northern Ontario homelessness is alarming” said Donna Stewart, Manitoulin-Sudbury District Services Board CAO. “We have been carefully monitoring this trend and are taking all necessary steps to counteract the effects in our district. Our By-Name-List, which monitors the individuals that are experiencing known homelessness in the area, currently has 83 active individuals. However, this data only reflects the individuals we know about. Homelessness in rural and Northern communities often takes different forms than what is seen in larger urban areas and often falls into the category of ‘hidden homelessness’, so we expect the actual number of individuals experiencing homelessness in our district to be much higher. Evidence shows that providing wrap around supports by pairing housing with mental health and addictions supports delivers better outcomes. It is our hope that the province will implement the recommendations from the HelpSeeker report so we can work towards a steady reduction of homelessness in our district and all of Northern Ontario.”

The difference between the $11-billion provincial ask and the Northern Scenarios topping out at $5.1 billion is the integration of health services including mental health and addictions supports that will affect homelessness levels over time.

Northern Ontario plays a key role in exports, natural resources and critical minerals, with more than $10 billion in goods exported annually, largely to the United States. The provincial government has committed billions to resource development in the region, including investments in critical minerals processing, Indigenous participation and transportation infrastructure.

The new report warns that capital investment alone is not enough. Communities must be able to house and support the workforce required to deliver these projects and housing investment must be integrated with mental health and substance use support to be effective.

Northern Ontario is seeing a rapid rise in homelessness and significantly higher rates of mental health and substance-related harms, with related emergency department visits two to four times above the provincial average.

“Housing instability and unmet health needs are no longer just social issues–they are economic risks,” said Michelle Boileau, mayor of Timmins, and chair of NOSDA. “They can undermine labour attraction, retention and productivity at the very moment when Northern Ontario is expected to deliver on major public and private investments.”

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) and NOSDA also released a report this week, ‘Municipalities Under Pressure One Year Later: An Update on The Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis.’ This report shows the number of people experiencing homelessness in Northern Ontario rose from 5,930 to 8,142 in the past year, an increase of more than 37 percent as compared to 7.8 percent provincially. Since 2021, homelessness in the North has increased by approximately 117 percent, more than double the provincial rate. While Northern Ontario represents five percent of Ontario’s population, it now accounts for nearly 10 percent of all known homelessness in the province.

Housing shortages, long wait times for community housing and limited access to health and mental health services are already making it harder to attract and retain workers, particularly in smaller and remote communities. Average waits for community housing can be more than three years, with some communities reporting waits of 10 years or more. The community housing waitlist in Northern Ontario increased from 8,855 households in 2018 to 13,104 households in 2025, a 48 percent increase.

“Investing in stronger social supports is necessary for our economic protection,” said Mayor Boileau. “It will reduce reliance on shelters, emergency departments, hospitals, and other high-cost responses in our communities.”