BEYOND THE HEADLINES: THE HIDDEN REALITIES OF GENDERED POVERTY IN CANADA

Communities across Canada continue to report rising levels of homelessness and housing insecurity, driven by mounting economic pressures, a lack of affordable housing, and years of underinvestment in social systems.

In Ontario alone, more than 85,000 people experienced homelessness in 2025, an 8% increase over the previous year. This included approximately 20,000 children and youth. The trend is particularly visible in major urban centres. In Toronto, the number of people experiencing homelessness has more than doubled over the past three years, underscoring growing pressure on housing, shelter, and broader system of care.

Without significant intervention, the outlook is equally concerning. Some projections suggest homelessness in Ontario could more than double over the next decade, reaching as many as 177,000 people by 2035 under current conditions—and substantially more in the event of a significant economic downturn.

Beyond the rising numbers, the profile of homelessness is also changing. Sector leaders are reporting growing numbers of families, women, newcomers, and seniors who are employed but unable to secure stable housing. Some estimates suggest that as many as 40% of people experiencing homelessness are working but unable to afford housing. It is a stark reminder that employment alone is not a guarantee of economic security.

As housing and food costs continue to rise, many families are falling behind.

These trends are unfolding alongside rising costs for housing, food, and other daily essentials. Child poverty has increased for the third consecutive year, with nearly 1.4 million children living in poverty under broader income measures. Food insecurity is also rising: 2.5 million children now live in food-insecure households, while the number experiencing severe food insecurity has doubled since 2019.

Government supports remain critical but have not kept pace with the realities facing low-income (and, increasingly, middle-income) households. While programs such as the Canada Child Benefit continue to prevent hundreds of thousands of children from falling into poverty, their impact has been eroded by rising costs of living.

These challenges are not experienced equally. Women-led households, survivors of gender-based violence, newcomers, Indigenous women, people with disabilities, and members of 2SLGBTQ+ communities continue to face disproportionate barriers to housing and economic security. Nearly half of children living in lone-parent families live in poverty, compared with approximately one in ten children in two-parent households. More than half of children living on reserve also continue to experience poverty.

Why it matters: Understanding who is experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity—and the interconnected factors driving these trends—is essential to developing solutions that address both immediate needs and the systemic barriers that contribute to gendered poverty. 

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Campaign 2000: Child & Family Poverty Report Card
Association of Municipalities of Ontario: Homelessness in Ontario

Each year, approximately 235,000 people experience homelessness in Canada. Yet traditional homelessness counts capture only part of the story.

For decades, many forms of homelessness have remained largely invisible because they occur behind closed doors. Rather than staying in shelters or sleeping rough, many women cycle between temporary accommodations, stay with friends or family, or remain in unsafe situations for lack of safe, affordable alternatives. As a result, women’s experiences of homelessness have long been underrepresented in national data. 

Recent estimates suggest that between 450,000-900,000 people may experience homelessness each year when hidden homelessness is taken into account. 

In a significant step forward, Canada’s 2026 Census includes new questions designed to better capture experiences of homelessness and housing insecurity. For advocates, researchers, and community organizations, this represents an important opportunity to develop a clearer picture of the realities facing women and gender-diverse people across the country.

Why it matters: Better data helps ensure policies, funding, and services reflect the realities of those most affected; creating more effective, equitable solutions to homelessness and gendered poverty.

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• Statistics Canada: 2026 Census
• Canadian Observatory on Homelessness

Women’s pathways into homelessness are distinct, reflecting deep and enduring barriers to economic security, safety, and social inclusion.

For many women and gender-diverse people, homelessness is the culmination of multiple, intersecting forms of inequality rather than a single housing crisis. Financial insecurity, gender-based violence, discrimination, caregiving responsibilities, disability, and limited access to affordable housing often overlap and reinforce one another, making it increasingly difficult to secure or maintain stable housing.

Research shows that women are more likely to lose housing following relationship breakdown, experience financial abuse or coercive control, remain in unsafe situations to avoid homelessness, or rely on temporary arrangements with friends, family, or acquaintances when no safe alternatives exist. Barriers to emergency shelters, legal supports, and affordable housing — combined with discrimination and the lasting impacts of trauma—can make it extraordinarily difficult to regain stability. 

These inequities are further compounded for many racialized women, who face intersecting forms of discrimination that contribute to persistent disparities in employment, income, housing, and economic security. Disproportionately represented in precarious, lower-wage work, they are especially vulnerable to rising living costs and housing unaffordability. For many, limited financial resources create an impossible choice between remaining in unsafe living situations and facing homelessness. 

Together, these intersecting realities help explain why women’s homelessness is so often hidden from view—and why traditional approaches have consistently underestimated both its scale and complexity.

Why it matters: Addressing homelessness requires solutions that reflect the full context of people’s lives, tackling the interconnected barriers that shape pathways into poverty, housing insecurity, and economic instability.

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Pan-Canadian Women’s Housing & Homelessness Survey
Campaign 2000: Child & Family Poverty Report Card
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness

With one in four women-led single-parent households living in unaffordable, inadequate, or unstable housing, the Federal Housing Advocate has identified the gendered housing crisis as one of Canada’s most pressing human rights concerns.

Increasingly, organizations across sectors are calling for integrated approaches that recognize the interconnected nature of housing, employment, childcare, violence prevention, health, and income supports. The conversation is shifting beyond housing alone toward the broader systems that create—or undermine—economic security. Leaders are asking not only how to help people find secure housing or employment, but how to ensure they can build stable, healthy, and prosperous lives over the long term.

There is also growing recognition that people with lived experience must play a central role in informing policy, program design, and systems change. Those most affected by housing insecurity bring essential expertise and lived insight to these conversations.

This dialogue is unfolding amid changing labour markets, evolving skills requirements, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Taken together, these trends underscore the importance of building systems and supports that help people navigate change, adapt to new realities, and participate fully in the economy.

Why it matters: Complex, interconnected challenges require coordinated, community-driven solutions. Collaboration across sectors is essential to strengthening the systems that support lasting economic security.

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• Federal Housing Advocate
• Canada’s Housing Plan
• Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness
• Campaign 2000