‘Deeply concerning’: Homelessness in the Sault rises more than 70 per cent

A new report shows that homelessness in northern Ontario is rising at an unsustainable pace.

The updated findings, Municipalities Under Pressure: One Year Later, build on last year’s landmark study by the northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association (NOSDA), in partnership with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA).

In Sault Ste. Marie, the most recent Point-in-Time Count in 2024 identified 421 people experiencing homelessness, up more than 72 per cent from 2021 when the last count was conducted.

“These numbers are deeply concerning and are a stark reminder of the very real, very significant crisis we are facing in our community, region and province,” said Stephanie Pagnucco, chair of the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board, in a news release.

“Collaborative efforts like the HART Hub, expanded shelter capacity, and new supportive housing developments are important steps in building the ecosystem we need to address homelessness in our community. Still, the data makes clear that sustained, coordinated investment is needed to create lasting pathways to safety and stability for the unhoused in Sault Ste. Marie,” Pagnucco said.

Connie Raynor-Elliott, founder of the SOYA depot in Sault Ste. Marie, said she’s noticed their numbers have risen over the last few years. 

“Our numbers have gone up. It’s very concerning . . . the amount of youth, seniors and couples on our streets is terrible,” Raynor-Elliott said.

Updates show that homelessness continues to rise faster than housing supply, prevention, and support systems can respond, with northern Ontario experiencing the most severe impacts, the release said.

Across northern Ontario, homelessness increased 37.3 per cent from 2024 to 2025, compared to 7.8 per cent provincially. Since 2021, homelessness in the north has risen roughly 117 per cent, more than double the provincial rate. While the north makes up five per cent of Ontario’s population, it now accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the province’s known homelessness.

In just one year, the number of people experiencing homelessness in northern Ontario rose from 5,930 to 8,142, highlighting the widening gap between need and system capacity.

“One year after we warned that homelessness would continue to grow without sustained, coordinated action, the data confirms that northern Ontario is now facing a deepening systems failure, with serious consequences for people, communities, and local economies,” said Michelle Boileau, chair of NOSDA.

The report said northern Ontario’s homelessness is driven by structural housing shortages rather than short-term shocks. The region faces a shortage of deeply affordable, supportive, and community housing, contributing to longer shelter stays and increased chronic homelessness. In 2025, over 13,000 households were on community housing waitlists in the north, a 50 per cent increase since 2021.

Indigenous people are disproportionately affected, representing over 40 per cent of the north’s homeless. This highlights the urgent need for culturally appropriate, community-led solutions.

Beyond its human toll, homelessness is increasingly undermining community and economic stability across the north. Municipalities are absorbing rising costs for emergency shelters, health care, public safety, and encampment responses, while housing shortages make it harder to attract and retain workers, support business growth, and sustain economic development.

Persistent homelessness reduces labour-market participation, strains municipal budgets, and diverts resources from infrastructure, housing supply, and community-building investments that support long-term economic resilience.

Without changes to current system conditions, the report projects homelessness in northern Ontario will continue to rise through 2035, reaching approximately 16,900 people under steady economic conditions and more than 27,500 people in an economic downturn.

The findings reinforce a key conclusion from last year’s report: homelessness is not a temporary crisis, but the result of system-level gaps across housing, income, health, and social services. Managing emergency pressures alone will not reverse the trend.

Addressing homelessness at scale requires a housing-led, prevention-focused, and coordinated approach, with sustained investment in deeply affordable and supportive housing, stronger prevention and housing stability supports, and alignment across all orders of government.

Read the full report and learn more about Municipalities Under Pressure: One Year Later here.