Despite the fact that Toronto’s unhoused population has more than doubled since 2021, the City is set to receive a fraction of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) funding in its sixth year that it did in both its fourth- and fifth-year allocations.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wrote in a letter that went to the Executive Committee on Monday that the Province allocated $38 million to Toronto from the COHB between April 2024 and March 2025, and $19.75 million from April 2025 to March 2026 — but between April 2026 and March 2027, the City will receive only $7.95 million, representing an almost 60% decrease year over year.

Launched in April 2020, the COHB pays the difference between 30% of eligible households’ income and the average market rent in the area, and is supported by provincial and federal funding. Chow said in her letter that the program “is the single most effective tool we have for freeing up beds in our shelter system so that more people can come indoors from streets and parks.”

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