Far too many people across Canada are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of losing a safe place to live. Addressing homelessness requires immediate action to expand supportive and deeply affordable housing, reduce barriers, and deliver solutions faster for those who need them most.
The Government of Canada is taking action to help communities respond to the urgent challenge of unsheltered homelessness and encampments by supporting 10 municipalities across Ontario through the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI).
In April, the Government of Canada announced a $125 million investment to extend the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI) by one year, following two years of initial funding from 2024 to 2026. Of this additional funding, up to $45.5 million has been allocated for proposed agreements with 10 Ontario municipalities.
The funding will help communities strengthen local responses to unsheltered homelessness, enhance outreach and support services, and create pathways to safer, more stable housing for people experiencing, or at imminent risk of, unsheltered homelessness.
UHEI supports more stable housing, enables outreach staff to connect people experiencing unsheltered homelessness with the services they need, and helps fund the creation or expansion of transitional and supportive housing and shelter spaces.
UHEI complements broader federal efforts to address homelessness and increase housing stability, including investments through Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy, which supports community-based responses to homelessness across Canada, the Veteran Homelessness Program, and Build Canada Homes. These initiatives help prevent and reduce homelessness, support vulnerable populations, expand supportive and transitional housing, and create pathways to more stable housing for Canadians experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
