Toronto’s latest Street Needs Assessment shows the city counted about 15,400 people experiencing homelessness last October, more than double the 7,300 recorded in April 2021. The municipal report links the post-pandemic surge to a shortage of affordable housing, insufficient income supports, health-care gaps and substance-use issues. Indigenous and Black residents remain disproportionately affected, representing 9% and 58% of the homeless population respectively, compared with 3% and 10% of Toronto’s overall demographics. The city says 1,078 people living outdoors were brought into the shelter system and more than 4,300 secured permanent housing in 2024. Toronto plans to open up to 20 smaller, lower-cost shelters over the next decade, seven of which are already selected. The findings arrive alongside a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report indicating early signs of relief in the rental market. Average asking rents for condominiums and purpose-built apartments in Toronto fell 3.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, while rent on purpose-built two-bedroom units rose just 2.4% in 2024—the slowest pace among major Canadian cities. CMHC attributes the easing to a record influx of new units and federal caps on international students and other temporary residents.