Homeless Shelter Capacity in Canada, bed and shelter counts by target population and geographical location for emergency shelters, transitional housing, and domestic violence shelters.

The Alberta Survey program is a telephone conducted survey of Albertans, to collect data on specific determinants of health to support the creation of material and social deprivation indices, and assess their effects on health. This dataset contains individual level survey response details for the category Home Security - Homeless with Children, along with a supporting document containing a column description for this dataset. Aggregate level datasets for select determinants based upon the ACHS are also available.

The CHS is a new survey sponsored by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) that will run biennially until 2028 in every province and territory. The survey will collect new information on dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction, first-time homebuyers and housing affordability, as well as many other important dwelling and household characteristics. The CHS also fills a significant data gap on Social and Affordable Housing (SAH) that was identified in the 2016 "Let's Talk Housing" national consultations held by CMHC. Data from the survey will help better measure whether Canadians have housing that meets their needs and that they can afford. The data will also provide more information to make program and policy development decisions related to housing.

On April 14, 2021, United Way KFLA, through a grant from Employment and Social Development Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy (RH), conducted a coordinated Point in Time (PiT) Homeless Count in urban Kingston as part of the nationally coordinated PiT count.

The data on this dashboard is divided into seven sections: demographics, housing pressures, housing supply, experiences of homelessness, shelter demand and occupancy, housing solutions, and the Centralized Wait List. Data for this dashboard was collected from a number of sources, including administrative data from the City of Ottawa, and publicly available data from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, among other public data sources.Date Created: June 27th 2025 Update Frequency: Annually Last Reviewed: June 27th 2025Accuracy, Completeness, and Known Issues: The Housing Needs Assessment dashboard relies on data from Statistics Canada (Census), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), municipal administrative datasets, and local housing market information. Many data points include disaggregation by various demographic characteristics, including household characteristics, housing core need, the Point-in-Time count of people experiencing homelessness, shelter system capacity and demand sourced from the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), and the Centralized Wait List. Some data points, such as average rent prices and housing stock amounts cannot be further aggregated using demographic characteristics. More information regarding data quality and methodology can be found within the full Housing Needs Assessment report.Attributes: The following data tables have been provided for the dataset, and are organized into themes.Demographics:Population by Age GroupHouseholdsImmigrant PopulationIncomeHousing Pressures:Housing CostsConsumer Price IndexVacancy RateHousing Supply:Housing DevelopmentHousing StockExperiences of Homelessness:Experiences of HomelessnessShelter Demand and Occupancy:Shelter Demand and CapacityShelter Average Length of StayHousing Solutions:Affordable and Supportive Units BuiltRent-Geared-to-Income and Housing BenefitsCentralized Wait List:Clients on Centralized Wait ListNew Centralized Wait List ApplicationsHoused from Centralized WaitlistData Steward: Liam McGuireData Steward Email: liam.mcguire@ottawa.caDepartment or Agency: Community and Social ServicesBranch/Unit: Housing Data, Research and Analytics Unit

The Canadian Housing Survey (CHS) provides information on how Canadians feel about their housing and how housing affects them. Information is collected on housing conditions and costs; dwelling characteristics and housing tenure; perceptions of economic hardship from housing costs; dwelling and neighbourhood satisfaction; perceptions of neighbourhood issues and safety; housing moves including forced moves; civic engagement; life and community satisfaction; self-assessed health; various dimensions of physical and mental well-being; experience with homelessness; socio-demographic characteristics; and the impacts of COVID-19 on some aspects of housing. Social and Affordable Housing (SAH) is an important part of the housing stock that provides housing to people in need. The CHS aims to provide detailed and precise statistics on households in SAH by oversampling this subpopulation.

Participant housing history and health status (n = 19).

This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. The purpose of the PiT Count is to estimate the minimum number of people experiencing homelessness in Kamloops at a specific time, to obtain a demographic profile of this population, and to identify trends compared to previous counts. The PiT Count featured a PiT Count Committee with representation from non-profit organizations, community groups, and other levels of government. A PiT Count Coordinator conducted the overall preparation, execution, and data analysis for the PiT Count. A large team of 105 volunteers supported the count.

The public use microdata file (PUMF) from the General Social Survey – Canadians' Safety is to better understand how Canadians perceive crime and the justice system and to capture information on their experiences of victimization. This survey is the only national survey of self-reported victimization and is collected in all provinces and territories. The survey allows for estimates of the numbers and characteristics of victims and criminal incidents. Topics covered are: neighbourhood safety, crime prevention, risks and perceptions, abuse by current spouse/partner, crime incidents, criminal harassment, confidence in police, hate crimes, cyber bullying, experiences of discrimination, health and well-being and also a variety of socio-demographic measures. Cycle 34 is the seventh cycle of the GSS to collect data on victimization. Previous cycles were conducted in 1988, 1993, 1999, 2004, and 2009, 2014.

Having access to good quality housing is a key determinant of well-being. Little is known about experiences of housing quality following homelessness from the perspectives of persons with lived experience. To build on existing literature, we conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews with 19 individuals who had experiences of transitioning to housing following homelessness. Interview transcripts were drawn from a community-based participatory research study exploring the conditions needed for thriving following homelessness in Ontario, Canada. We analyzed these transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis. We coded transcripts abductively, informed by theories of social justice and health equity. Consistent with reflexive thematic analysis, we identified a central essence to elucidate experiences of housing quality following homelessness: “negotiating control within oppressive structural contexts.” This was expressed through four distinct themes: 1) being forced to live in undesirable living conditions; 2) stuck in an unsafe environment; 3) negotiating power dynamics to attain comfort and safety in one’s housing; and 4) having access to people and resources that create home. Overall, our findings indicate that attaining good quality housing following homelessness is elusive for many and influenced by a range of structural factors including ongoing poverty following homelessness, a lack of deeply affordable housing stock, and a lack of available social support networks. To prevent homelessness, it is essential to improve access to good quality housing that can support tenancy sustainment and well-being following homelessness. Policymakers need to review existing housing policies and reflect on how over-reliance on market housing has imposed negative impacts on the lives of persons who are leaving homelessness. Given the current economic context, it is imperative that policymakers devise policies that mitigate the financialization of housing, and result in the restoration of the social housing system in Canada and beyond.