Toronto is adding up to 1,533 shelter and housing spaces this winter — 18 per cent more than last year — as it ramps up cold-weather supports for people experiencing homelessness.
The expanded capacity is the centrepiece of the city's annual Winter Services Plan, which runs from Sunday, November 15, until Thursday, April 15, 2027, according to a City of Toronto news release issued November 9.
The plan activates Warming Centres, extends hours at several daytime drop-in programs and adds surge capacity during extreme cold weather alerts. Drop-ins, which offer food, health care, showers, laundry and recreational activities, will collectively provide 252 additional hours of service each week.
Additional street outreach teams will be dispatched during extreme cold to encourage people to come indoors. Staff also conduct regular outreach throughout the winter, handing out warm clothing, sleeping bags and other cold-weather supplies while connecting people to shelter, housing and other supports.
The release describes Toronto as continuing to experience a homelessness emergency, driven by unaffordable housing, insufficient income supports and unmet health needs. The city says it is working to build more housing and long-term shelter capacity while providing emergency relief through the winter plan.
City figures show some signs of progress. Toronto is currently providing accommodations to nearly 7,000 people each night, down from 9,000 last year, following a decrease in demand since the 2024 Street Needs Assessment.
Encampments have fallen by roughly 67 per cent, from more than 353 in October 2025 to about 118 in October 2026. Since January 1, 2026, the Streets to Homes program has made 461 shelter referrals from encampment locations, and more than 4,158 people have moved from the shelter system into permanent housing over the past year.
A recent report by the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario found homelessness across the province rose 17.9 per cent between 2022 and 2025 — but fell 8.2 per cent in Toronto over the same period.
Beyond the emergency response, work is underway to stabilize the shelter system by developing 1,600 long-term shelter spaces through the city's Homelessness Services Capital Infrastructure Strategy.
The city cautions that without stable funding agreements between all three orders of government, that momentum is at risk. It says it will keep looking for ways to stretch its own resources while advocating for agreements that adequately support shelter and housing for vulnerable residents.
Full details of the plan are posted on the city's Winter Services Plan webpage.
