When I first took office, Toronto Centre was home to the largest and most prolific park encampments in the city. From Moss Park to Allan Gardens, our green spaces had become sites of crisis where unhoused residents–without safe options–made shelter where they could. For far too long, all levels of government failed to act with the urgency and coordination required.
I made it a priority to approach encampments differently: with compassion, consistency, and commitment to real housing outcomes. We worked across divisions and with frontline partners to reimagine how encampments could be resolved—without the violence of mass clearings or the abandonment of people to shelter waitlists. Our parks are now clear of major encampments for the first time since pre-pandemic. I am proud to say that through sustained outreach, case management and coordinated housing access, we’ve transitioned the residents of the final park encampment into safe, indoor accommodations.
As you all know, this resolution did not happen overnight. It took months of relationship-building, problem-solving, and relentless advocacy. It took trust, earned slowly, and not always easily. But it worked.
While this milestone is meaningful, it does not mean the housing crisis in Toronto is over. Pressure on our shelter system remains high, and we know that new encampments may emerge. The number of people experiencing homelessness in our city has doubled since 2021, with over 15,400 residents now identifying as unhoused. In the face of this ongoing crisis, City staff and community partners will continue to follow the City’s inter-divisional encampment response protocol, centering safety, dignity and housing-first principles in every engagement. Please contact 311 or my office if you see a new encampment so we can swiftly assist the occupants into shelter or housing.
I want to thank the Encampment Office, our community partners, and most importantly, the local residents and recreational park visitors who held on to hope and worked with us to find better options. Everyone deserves a home and in Toronto Centre, we are proving that a housing-first approach is not only possible, it’s effective.
There is more work ahead, but today, I want us to acknowledge how far we’ve come. We’ve restored our parks, housed our neighbours, and begun writing a new chapter for this community; one rooted in dignity, housing, and care.
