The group representing most of Ontario's municipalities says the province's homelessness crisis is at a tipping point.
More than 81,000 people were reported as homeless in 2024, which is an estimated increase of 12 per cent from 2023.
The vast majority of homeless individuals live in urban centres in southern Ontario.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) released a new report on Thursday, urging the provincial and federal governments to take significant, long-term action.
AMO President Robin Jones said more than half of homeless Ontarians are chronically homeless.
"Too many people are stuck in a cycle because our homeless response system is broken and poorly funded," she said. "As a result municipal spending on housing and homelessness has greatly increased recently, almost doubling since 2020 to more than $2 billion in 2024."
Jones said federal and provincial investments only deliver a fraction of what is required.
"We need other orders of government to recognize the scale and the urgency of this crisis. They must make this issue a real priority by working with communities to actually solve the crisis," she said.
The report estimates that to end chronic homelessness, an additional $11 billion over 10 years would be needed to increase focus on prevention and create more than 75,000 new affordable and supportive housing units.
Additionally, the report recommends an investment of $2 billion over eight years to tackle the immediate priority of ensuring all encampment residents are appropriately housed.
Karen Redman, Chair of the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO), said the homelessness crisis is taking a devastating toll on people in Ontario communities.
"Our municipal staff and first responders are seeing first hand how our current responses are not working. They fail our residents experiencing homelessness, they fail our communities in looking for serious meaningful changes to keep our neighborhoods safe and healthy," she said.
Redman added while recent provincial investments are appreciated, they are insufficient.
"These are investments our communities need and it is time for the provincial government to adopt this approach that prioritizes long-term housing solutions, so that we can solve this crisis together," she said
Redman said she understands the price tag is high.
"The reality is we're going to pay for it now or we're going to pay for it later and what we need is provincial and federal, on some level, partnership to make focused investments into the gaps that we know exist because this is only going to get worse," she said.
In a statement, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the report a searing indictment of the government's inaction.
"After six years, there is still no real plan to address the critical lack of affordable housing that is forcing so many of our neighbours out in the cold," Stiles said.
The report said without any additional action homelessness will continue to increase.
It said homelessness in the province could double over the next ten years.