Ontario's finance minister promised "robust conversations" with municipalities at a conference next week, after reporting from The Trillium revealed the state of homelessness in the province is much more dire than previously known.
"My team has some 35 meetings scheduled over two days. We're gonna continue to have robust conversations and talk about the shared priorities that we have," he told a reporter who asked about the story Tuesday morning, referring to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference. "One thing I know, in business and in government as well: if you're not talking, you're not coming up with the best solution."
According to previously unreleased data, the province estimates that nearly a quarter of a million people are homeless in Ontario; tens of thousands are languishing on waitlists for supportive housing; the shelter system is 97 per cent full; and a lack of coordination between ministries is compounding the issues.
The findings came from a transition binder prepared by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for the new associate housing minister, which The Trillium received via freedom-of-information request.
The Ford government had declined to comment on the reporting before it was published.
Municipalities have been calling for a review of which government pays for what. They're looking to un-download some of the social and health issues they've had to add to the property tax base over the past few decades — like homelessness and addictions.
It'll be their number one issue at AMO.
Bethlenfalvy said he's increased mental health and addictions funding for municipalities, and bumped up the Homelessness Prevention Program by 40 per cent to $700 million per year.
"Is there more work to do? Absolutely, but we're going to do it together," he said.
The minister wouldn't say whether he believes it's appropriate to have cities spend property tax income on mental health supports.
"This finance minister, this government, is very acutely aware of the challenges in our communities," he said.
Reacting to the Trillium story, opposition parties excoriated the government for what they said was a lack of leadership on the file.
"The Conservatives have never had a viable plan to address homelessness. They've picked a side, and it's the side of developer profits over housing affordability," NDP housing critic Jessica Bell posted on X, calling for rent control and building affordable homes on government-owned land.
"After six years of Ford focusing on making his rich friends richer, 234,000 people are living on our streets — greater than the population of Windsor," Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie posted.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the reporting revealed the government's "utter failure" to address the housing crisis.
"Greens call on the Ford government to immediately declare homelessness a public health emergency across Ontario and commit to solving it through investments in deeply affordable and permanent supportive housing, better access to mental health and addiction services and ending legislated poverty by raising social assistance rates," he said in a statement.
The stark homelessness figures came as Bethlenfalvy detailed good economic news for Ontario, broadly speaking.
He was before the media on Tuesday to present the 2024–25 Q1 finances, which saw Ontario's GDP increase 0.7 per cent, higher exports and household spending than last quarter, and $5.1 billion more in projected revenues than expenses (though the province still projects a $9.8-billion deficit).
"That's good news, and it reflects stronger-than-expected results for our first quarter," he said, adding that Ontario "is in an enviable position and our finances are in excellent shape."
"Our track record speaks for itself," Bethlenfalvy said. "Across the board, our government is making life more affordable and convenient for people and families, while getting shovels in the ground to build for the future."
