TORONTO – The problem of homelessness in Toronto is also among the themes of the electoral campaign for the election of the new premier of Ontario, following the publication – yesterday – of the Toronto Public Health (TPH) report, which found an increase in homeless deaths in the first six months of 2024 (there were 135) compared to the same period in 2023 (when there were 130). 

NDP Leader Marit Stiles weighed in on the topic today in Toronto, vowing to end homeless encampments and calling them Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford’s “biggest failure.”

“After seven years of Ford, encampments are the new normal” Stiles said. “Seeing tents in parks is a stark reminder of how utterly Ford has failed. He has failed in housing, he has failed in health care, he has failed in creating good jobs and he has failed in making life affordable…”.

Stiles then declared that “an NDP government will create 60,000 new supportive housing units, make the Province pay housing costs instead of municipalities and double social assistance rates”.

Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie, who was in Hamilton today, spoke about a topic that is somehow related to homelessness: the ODSP, i.e. the Ontario Disability Support Program, to which the CBC dedicated an extensive report just today (see here the article by Isha Bhargava). “The current subsidy doesn’t even cover Ontario’s median rent and we’re talking about almost half a million people who rely on that help” Crombie said. “We will duplicate it, to ensure that it is adequate for the current cost of living”, promised the Liberal leader.

Mike Schreiner, leader of the Greens, today was in Guelph where he met with some farmers and highlighted that “Ontario’s food and agriculture sector is a $50 billion economic engine that employs more than 875,000 people and drives our province forward”: Schreiner then presented the “Grow Ontario” plan, to support farmers through a series of points, including increasing funding to expand business risk management programs by $150 million per year and giving priority to Ontario-grown food in local procurement for public sector purchases.

Finally, the outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Doug Ford, who today divided his time between Pickering and Oshawa, continued his campaign “in defense of Ontario against the tariffs threatened by the US”.

In the pic above: Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie (Twitter X – @BonnieCrombie)