**Toronto Mayor Warns of Tax Increase Due to Shelter Funding Cuts** Toronto is facing significant cuts to its shelter funding from the provincial government, which could impact the city’s ability to house homeless individuals. Mayor Olivia Chow announced on Friday that the province plans to reduce its funding for the upcoming year to nearly $8 million. This is a sharp decline from the $19.75 million the city received this year and the $38 million allocated in 2024.

Chow expressed her concerns during a press conference on Monday, stating, "This means the single most effective tools to free up shelter spaces, to take people off the streets and into homes, are being undermined by other levels of government because they’re not stepping up. So today my message is clear ... step up to partner with us."

The funding in question is part of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which helps cover the difference between 30 percent of a household's income and the average market rent. This program allows individuals in shelters or encampments to transition into private housing without having to wait on the city’s lengthy social housing waitlist. Currently, over 100,000 people are on that waitlist for subsidized housing.

In addition to the provincial cuts, Chow noted that the city is facing a shortfall of more than $100 million in federal funding. She stated that the total deficit for next year could reach $153 million, which includes $107 million needed from Ottawa for housing costs related to refugee claimants and asylum seekers, along with an additional $46 million requested from the province.

Chow warned that this funding gap could lead to a repeat of the situation in 2023, when asylum seekers were forced to sleep on downtown sidewalks. This crisis prompted discussions of a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against the city. "We can either stop sheltering refugee claimants, leave them on the street, which will make homelessness worse, or Torontonians will have to pay for it through their property taxes. Neither is fair," Chow said.

To address the funding shortfall, Chow indicated that a property tax increase of approximately three percent may be necessary. "I haven’t given up trying to persuade the federal government," she added.

Two years ago, Toronto experienced a severe strain on its shelter capacity, leading city officials to restrict access to the base shelter system for identified refugees and asylum claimants. Instead, these individuals were directed to seek assistance from the federal government, resulting in many being left to sleep outside the city’s shelter referral center. Chow emphasized, "We do not want a repeat of that."

Last year, Chow and the city’s budget chief, Coun. Shelley Carroll, proposed a six percent "federal impacts levy" in addition to a planned 10.5 percent property tax increase if the federal government did not provide additional funding. The situation remains critical as the city prepares to discuss these funding challenges further at the executive committee meeting.