Higher rates of illness and premature death among the homeless population have been widely recognized. The City is committed to identifying and responding in a timely manner to new and emerging issues in the shelter system. That is why when residents or recent residents of Toronto shelters die, operators must notify the City within 24 hours and submit a written report within 30 days.
The Toronto Shelter and Support Services division has collected this information since 2007. For historical records prior to the years below, browse the City’s Open Data portal. The City also conducts an annual review of the data. The 2024 Annual Review has been published.
The death of shelter residents data is a subset of data shared by Toronto Public Health (TPH) on its Deaths of People Experiencing Homelessness dashboard. The TPH dashboard includes figures on deaths of individuals experiencing homelessness staying in shelters, as well as people living outdoors or at other locations.
For reasons of client privacy and respect for confidentiality, even in death, we are not able to provide names, dates of birth, place of death, or any other information that might identify the deceased. We can present this data in aggregate form only. Additionally, shelter operators are not generally advised of cause of death information or presented with a Medical Certificate of Death because this information is not readily shared with anyone other than next of kin.
| Month | Total | Male | Female | Transgender/Non-Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| February | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Average Age | 54 | 56 | n/a | n/a |
| Month | Total | Male | Female | Transgender/Non-Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| February | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| April | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| July | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| September | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| October | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| November | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| December | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 59 | 42 | 16 | 1 |
| Average Age | 53 | 55 | 49 | n/a |
| Month | Total | Male | Female | Transgender/Non-binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| February | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| March | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| April | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| May | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| June | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| September | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| November | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| December | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 59 | 43 | 11 | 5 |
| Average Age | 51 | 50 | 54 | 50 |