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

In 2016, there were ***** residents in shelters for persons lacking a fixed address in Ontario, while there were ten residents in shelters for abused women and their children in Prince Edward Island.

The National Service Provider List (NSPL) is a comprehensive list of emergency and transitional homeless shelters with permanent beds in Canada. It is updated on an annual basis by the Homelessness Policy Directorate of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC). It includes information on bed capacity, location, and the clientele served by each service provider. The annual updates are made possible through collaborative efforts, relying on data contributions from service providers, communities, and various partners. This multifaceted information is gathered through a combination of primary and secondary research methods, as well as through collaborative data-sharing initiatives with jurisdictions utilizing the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) or comparable administrative systems for tracking homelessness data. Related Reports and Statistics: -The Shelter Capacity Report: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) - Data analysis, reports and publications (infc.gc.ca) https://secure.infc.gc.ca/homelessness-sans-abri/reports-rapports/publications-eng.html -Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0353-01 Homeless Shelter Capacity in Canada from 2016 to 2022, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) (statcan.gc.ca): https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410035301

In 2016, the number of residents in shelters in Canada varied by age. In that year, there were ****** residents in homeless shelters ages 15 to 64 years old, and ***** residents less than 15 years old.

BC Stats (with partners at the Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (SDPR), and BC Housing) has developed aggregated summary statistics estimating the homeless population in B.C. These estimates were derived from three administrative service use datasets from the Data Innovation Program (DIP): shelter use from BC Housing, social assistance payments from SDPR, demographic information from the Health medical service plan (MSP) central demographics file. The analytic definition of homelessness includes individuals who received income assistance with no fixed address for at least three consecutive months or those who visited a shelter at any time throughout the year. Estimates have been aggregated into four tables: * Annual estimates of the homeless population by age and gender * Annual estimates of the homeless population by chronicity category (chronic vs non-chronic homelessness) * Annual estimates of the homeless population by census division * Monthly estimates of the homeless population by service use (income assistance with no fixed address, shelter use, or both) \ Estimates are available for 2019-2022. Full methodology details are available in the Homeless Cohort Development - Technical Documentation resource.

The dateset enumerate the extent of homelessness in Canada, through nationally coordinated PiT counts.

In 2016, the number of residents in homeless shelters in Canada varied by province. In that year, there were ***** residents in all homeless shelters in Ontario, compared to ** in Nunavut.

The data provides annual capacity statistics for homeless shelters in Canada. The numbers of permanent beds are reported for each emergency homeless shelter and transitional housing facility in cities across all provinces and territories. Data on shelters are obtained from the National Service Provider List, which is a comprehensive listing of homeless shelters in Canada. It is compiled by the Community Development and Homelessness Partnerships Directorate as part of the National Homelessness Information System (NHIS), a data development initiative that focuses on the collection and analysis of homeless shelter data in Canada.

People experiencing homelessness have historically had high mortality rates compared to housed individuals in Canada, a trend believed to have become exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this matched cohort study conducted in Toronto, Canada, we investigated all-cause mortality over a one-year period by following a random sample of people experiencing homelessness (n = 640) alongside matched housed (n = 6,400) and low-income housed (n = 6,400) individuals. Matching criteria included age, sex-assigned-at-birth, and Charlson comorbidity index. Data were sourced from the Ku-gaa-gii pimitizi-win cohort study and administrative databases from ICES. People experiencing homelessness had 2.7 deaths/100 person-years, compared to 0.7/100 person-years in both matched unexposed groups, representing an all-cause mortality unadjusted hazard ratio (uHR) of 3.7 (95% CI, 2.1–6.5). Younger homeless individuals had much higher uHRs than older groups (ages 25–44 years uHR 16.8 [95% CI 4.0–70.2]; ages 45–64 uHR 6.8 [95% CI 3.0–15.1]; ages 65+ uHR 0.35 [95% CI 0.1–2.6]). Homeless participants who died were, on average, 17 years younger than unexposed individuals. After adjusting for number of comorbidities and presence of mental health or substance use disorder, people experiencing homelessness still had more than twice the hazard of death (aHR 2.2 [95% CI 1.2–4.0]). Homelessness is an important risk factor for mortality; interventions to address this health disparity, such as increased focus on homelessness prevention, are urgently needed.

The National Service Provider List (NSPL) is a comprehensive list of emergency and transitional homeless shelters with permanent beds in Canada. It is updated on an annual basis by the Homelessness Policy Directorate of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC). It includes information on bed capacity, location, and the clientele served by each service provider. The annual updates are made possible through collaborative efforts, relying on data contributions from service providers, communities, and various partners. This multifaceted information is gathered through a combination of primary and secondary research methods, as well as through collaborative data-sharing initiatives with jurisdictions utilizing the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) or comparable administrative systems for tracking homelessness data. Related Reports and Statistics: -The Shelter Capacity Report: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) - Data analysis, reports and publications (infc.gc.ca) https://secure.infc.gc.ca/homelessness-sans-abri/reports-rapports/publications-eng.html -Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0353-01 Homeless Shelter Capacity in Canada from 2016 to 2022, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) (statcan.gc.ca): https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410035301

The annual Shelter Capacity Report provides capacity statistics for emergency homeless shelters, transitional housing and violence against women (VAW) shelters in Canada. The number of shelter facilities and the number of permanent beds are reported for each province and territory, as well as by community.

Percent distribution of homeless individuals by duration of homelessness, according to selected characteristics, Nipissing District, Ontario 2021.

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

In 2016, the number of homeless support sector workers in Canada varied across all provinces. In that year, Ontario had the highest number of homeless support sector workers, having had ***** employees.

Adjusted odds ratios (and 95% confidence intervals) from binary logistic regression of experiencing chronic homelessness (being homeless for 180 or more days in a given year) by selected characteristics among homeless individuals (N = 207), Nipissing District, Ontario 2021.

Data for the Homelessness policy development and program funding in Vancouver, Canada case. Contains qualitative and quantitative information on the conditions, processes, and outcomes of a specific instance of collaborative governance involving public, private, and/or community actors. This is a case entry for the Collaborative Governance Case Database. This database provides a collective repository for collaborative governance case studies from around the world.

Comprehensive dataset containing 23 verified Homeless service businesses in British Columbia, Canada with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.

People experiencing homelessness often come from time- and labour-intensive cross-sectional counts and surveys from selected samples. This study uses comprehensive administrative health data from emergency department (ED) visits to enumerate people experiencing homelessness and characterize demographic and geographic trends in the province of Ontario, Canada, from 2010 to 2017. Data and methods People experiencing homelessness were identified by their postal code, designated as "XX." Outcomes included the number of people experiencing homelessness stratified by year and week, gender and age plotted annually, the location of each ED visit, and composition changes in demographics and geographic distribution

Percent distribution of homeless individuals by sleeping location, according to selected characteristics, Nipissing District, Ontario 2021.

The By-Name List was created through Built for Zero Canada (https://bfzcanada.ca/by-name-lists/) and is powered by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH). The By-Name List is a collaborative effort through various local agencies to use real-time data to reduce and prevent homelessness to provide streamlines access to available support. Although data is collected in real-time this data set provides an aggregated monthly update.