Shelter Capacity Report 2021

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List of figures

List of tables

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank service providers and communities across Canada for their collaboration in the development of the National Service Provider List. This support is key to advancing the understanding of homelessness in Canada.

Introduction

The Shelter Capacity Report is an annual descriptive account of capacity statistics for emergency homeless shelters in Canada. The report provides information on the number of emergency shelter facilities and permanent beds by province and territory, incorporating census population data and classifying services by clientele served. It also includes an overview of statistics on transitional housing facilities and domestic violence shelters. The statistics are obtained from The National Service Provider List, which includes information on shelter and other homelessness services from across Canada, and is maintained by the Homelessness Policy Directorate of Infrastructure Canada.

Scope of the data

The 2021 shelter capacity data reflects the capacity as of December 31, 2021. This report only includes emergency shelters, transitional housing facilities and domestic violence shelters facilities. Shelters must also meet the following criteria:

  • Operational year-round with free emergency permanent beds
  • Open as of year end (December 31, 2021)

Some shelter services are not included in the analysis, including:

  • Temporary emergency shelters, including COVID-19 response shelters
  • Supportive housing facilities
  • Immigrant and refugee shelters
  • Correctional services

Shelters providing services under the same umbrella organization but to different target populations and/or genders, even if located at the same address, are listed as separate shelters.

Shelters that provide services of different types at the same location, such as offering both emergency services and transitional beds, are listed as separate services in the National Service Provider List due to the nature of the service.

The report also presents statistics from 2019 and 2020 to examine trends in the shelter system. The 2020 statistics represent capacity data as of February 2020 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) instead of December 2020. The 2019 results follow the same shelter criteria as the 2021 statistics (open as of year end).

Types of shelters

Emergency shelters

A permanent facility that provides temporary, short-term accommodation (typically less than 3 months in duration) for homeless individuals and families. There is no cost to service users and no referral or entry application is necessary to access the service. Counselling, treatment and other support services including food and clothing may be available to the people who access the service, but participation is not mandatory. Often, only a place to sleep is provided.

Transitional housing

Facilities that provide temporary, longer-term accommodation for individuals and/or families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Transitional housing is typically an intermediate step between emergency shelter and permanent housing. They differ from emergency shelters by allowing a longer length of stay and greater intensity of support services. Stays typically last between 3 months and 3 years.

Domestic violence shelters

Facilities that provide temporary accommodation (emergency beds) to individuals and/or families fleeing domestic abuse or the threat of violence that functions either as a crisis capacity or as transitional/second stage housing (i.e. units designed to provide transitional accommodation when a client does not return to their previous residence).

Clientele served

General shelters

Provide services to adults of all genders. Some also accept youth of all genders.

Men's shelters

Provide services to adults identifying as men. Some also accept boys.

Women's shelters

Provide services to adults identifying as women. Some also accept girls.

Youth shelters

Provide services to youth. Some serve all genders, others only serve girls/women or boys/men. Shelters have varying definitions of youth, often ranging from 12 to 29 years of age.

Family shelters

Provide services to families and adults with dependents. Some also accept single adult women without dependents.

National Summary: Emergency shelter capacity, 2019-2021

There was a national reduction of 824 permanent emergency beds from 2020 to 2021 (a 5.1% decrease). This corresponds to bed capacity changes between February 2020 and December 2021.

Changes in number of shelters and beds are the results of a variety of changes in the system within a year period (and almost two years between the 2020 and 2021 data collected) including: opening and closure of shelters, changes or updates in the shelter type of a service, and the separation or collapsing of services' capacity information based on the level of detail that service provider are able to provide.

Figure 1: Number of emergency shelters and permanent beds in Canada, 2019-2021

Figure 1: Number of emergency shelters and permanent beds in Canada, 2019-2021
  • Figure 1 - Text version
    Year Number of permanent beds Number of emergency shelters
    2019 16,721 423
    2020 16,009 418
    2021 15,185 437

Number of emergency shelters and permanent beds by province and territory, 2021

The majority of shelter beds (89%) are in the provinces of Ontario (45%), British Columbia (16%), Alberta (15%), and Quebec (13%). These provinces account for 86% of the Canadian population in 2021 (Census, 2021).

  • Almost half of all emergency shelter beds (45%) are located in Ontario, where 38% of the population is found.
  • While Quebec has 23% of the population, 13% of shelter beds are found in the province.

Figure 2: Number of emergency shelter beds by province and territory, 2021

Figure 2: Number of emergency shelter beds by province and territory, 2021
  • Figure 2 - Text version
    Province and territory Number of emergency shelter beds, 2021
    Newfoundland and Labrador 118
    Prince Edward Island 26
    Nova Scotia 230
    New Brunswick 323
    Quebec 2,009
    Ontario 6,793
    Manitoba 484
    Saskatchewan 329
    Alberta 2,254
    British Columbia 2,456
    Yukon 39
    Northwest Territories 65
    Nunavut 59
    Canada 15,185
Table 1: Number of emergency shelters and beds by province and territory, 2019-2021
Province and territory Shelters Beds
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021
Newfoundland and Labrador 14 14 14 146 125 118
Prince Edward Island 1 2 3 7 18 26
Nova Scotia 11 11 11 225 243 230
New Brunswick 8 8 9 180 253 323
Quebec 76 74 92 1,901 1,658 2,009
Ontario 159 160 157 7,175 7,351 6,793
Manitoba 12 16 19 403 436 484
Saskatchewan 17 15 16 483 407 329
Alberta 38 30 26 3,258 2,784 2,254
British Columbia 79 79 81 2,336 2,534 2,456
Yukon 3 3 3 39 59 39
Northwest Territories 3 3 3 82 88 65
Nunavut 2 3 3 36 53 59
Canada 423 418 437 16,271 16,009 15,185

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emergency shelter capacity

Permanent shelter capacity for the year 2020 was collected at two points in the year: February 2020 ("pre-COVID-19") and August 2020 ("during COVID-19"). The February 2020 data has been reported in the 2020 Shelter Capacity Report and the 2020 National Service Provider List.

The capacity data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic (August 2020) shows that bed capacity reduced significantly across most jurisdictions (an average reduction of 22%) due in part to isolation and physical distancing protocols. Many shelters were able to extend their services to temporary locations such as leased hotels/motels. However, beds corresponding to these COVID-19 temporary response sites are not included in this analysis as they are not offered on a permanent basis.

Results show that by the end of 2021 some jurisdictions including Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Quebec had more emergency shelter beds than before the pandemic. This demonstrates a gradual stabilization of bed capacity from the effects brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 3 demonstrates provincial bed capacity changes between 2019 and 2021. Only permanent emergency beds are included in the total count of beds available. For bed capacity corresponding to August 2020, 85% of shelters provided an actual capacity figure for their services. In order to estimate the missing capacities, internal shelter usage data was used, taking averages of shelter user numbers in 2019 and 2020. A COVID-19 adjustment factor was calculated and applied to the existing February 2020 capacity of those services with missing August 2020 data. Therefore, the August 2020 capacity totals are a sum of actual values and approximated values.

Figure 3: Impact of COVID-19 - Number of emergency beds by province and territory, 2019-2021

Figure 3: Impact of COVID-19 - Number of emergency beds by province and territory, 2019-2021
  • Figure 3 - Text version
    Province and territory 2019 February 2020
    (pre-COVID-19)    		 August 2020
    (during COVID-19)    		 2021
    Newfoundland and Labrador 146 125 101 118
    Prince Edward Island 7 18 18 26
    Nova Scotia 225 243 164 230
    New Brunswick 180 253 214 323
    Quebec 1,901 1,658 1,282 2,009
    Ontario 7,175 7,351 5,099 6,793
    Manitoba 403 436 362 484
    Saskatchewan 483 407 274 329
    Alberta 3,258 2,784 1,545 2,254
    British Columbia 2,336 2,534 1,993 2,456
    Yukon 39 59 43 39
    Northwest Territories 82 88 70 65
    Nunavut 36 53 49 59

Distribution of emergency shelters and beds by community size, 2021

The majority of permanent emergency beds were found in large communities. For the purpose of this analysis, a large community is one with a population equal to or greater than 100,000 persons and a small community is of less than 100,000 persons, with the Population Centre and Rural Area Classification (Statistic Canada, 2021) used as geographical framework. The total 2021 population for all communities (130) with permanent emergency shelter capacity was 25,118,511, where 88% was found in large communities and 12% in small communities. The results in Figure 4 below indicate that the proportion of beds found in large communities (83%) is slightly less than their indicated populations, but nevertheless proportional. Results also indicate that shelters in smaller communities tend to have less capacity.

Figure 4: Distribution of emergency shelters and permanent beds by community size (population of more, or less than 100,000), Canada, 2021

Figure 4: Distribution of emergency shelters and permanent beds by community size (population of more, or less than 100,000), Canada, 2021
  • Figure 4 - Text version
    Proportion of shelters and beds by community size Large population centres Small and medium population centres, and rural areas
    Percentage of all beds 83% 17%
    Percentage of all shelters 65% 35%

Emergency shelter capacity to population ratio - Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population

The number of emergency shelter beds by population of 10,000 is measured using the total number of emergency shelter beds and the census population of a province or territory. The 2021 results are based on 2021 census data while the 2020 and 2019 results were are based on 2016 census data. Changes between 2019 and 2020 directly come from a change in shelter beds while changes in 2021 are influenced by both factors (number beds and census population). Some notable findings include:

  • The number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 people in Canada decreased from 4.6 in 2020 to 4.1 in 2021.
  • This reduction is due to Canada's population increase of 5.2% between 2016 and 2021, alongside a national reduction of 5.1% in permanent emergency beds available between 2020 and 2021.
  • While Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nunavut saw an increase in their total population, they also increased their number of shelter beds per capita.
  • The three Territories consistently have the smallest population and have the highest number of shelter beds per capita.

Figure 5: Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2019-2021

Figure 5: Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2019-2021
  • Figure 5 - Text version
    Province and territory Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2019 (2016 Census) Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2020 (2016 Census) Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2021 (2021 Census)
    Newfoundland and Labrador 2.8 2.4 2.3
    Prince Edward Island 0.5 1.3 1.7
    Nova Scotia 2.4 2.6 2.4
    New Brunswick 2.4 3.4 4.2
    Quebec 2.3 2.0 2.4
    Ontario 5.3 5.5 4.8
    Manitoba 3.2 3.4 3.6
    Saskatchewan 4.4 3.7 2.9
    Alberta 8.0 6.8 5.3
    British Columbia 5.0 5.5 4.9
    Yukon 10.9 16.4 9.7
    Northwest Territories 19.6 21.1 15.8
    Nunavut 10.0 14.7 16.0

Figure 6: Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2021

Figure 6: Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2021
  • Figure 6 - Text version
    Province and territory Number of emergency shelter beds per 10,000 population, 2021 (2021 Census)
    Newfoundland and Labrador 2.3
    Prince Edward Island 1.7
    Nova Scotia 2.4
    New Brunswick 4.2
    Quebec 2.4
    Ontario 4.8
    Manitoba 3.6
    Saskatchewan 2.9
    Alberta 5.3
    British Columbia 4.9
    Yukon 9.7
    Northwest Territories 15.8
    Nunavut 16.0

Emergency shelters capacity by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021

Emergency shelters serving the "General" clientele accounted for 37% of all shelters in 2021, and 40% of all emergency beds. There was a significant decrease in the number of men's beds in Ontario (533) from 2020 to 2021. While Alberta faced a significant reduction in general beds (752), Quebec increased general beds by 411. Shelters that exclusively serve youth make up 18% of all shelters, however they only account for 7% of all shelter beds.

Table 2: Number of emergency shelters and permanent beds by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021
Province and territory General shelters General beds Men's shelters Men's beds Women's shelters Women's beds Youth shelters Youth beds Family shelters Family beds Total shelters Total beds
Newfoundland and Labrador 10 90 0 0 0 0 4 28 0 0 14 118
Prince Edward Island 0 0 2 18 1 8 0 0 0 0 3 26
Nova Scotia 4 92 2 70 2 34 2 28 1 6 11 230
New Brunswick 4 244 2 52 2 21 1 6 0 0 9 323
Quebec 37 830 11 565 14 262 22 229 8 123 92 2,009
Ontario 33 1,265 43 2,116 23 904 23 550 35 1,958 157 6,793
Manitoba 12 387 1 2 0 0 4 26 2 69 19 484
Saskatchewan 1 30 6 152 3 22 2 20 4 105 16 329
Alberta 12 1,428 2 480 2 167 7 69 3 110 26 2,254
British Columbia 47 1,622 9 400 5 179 11 119 9 136 81 2,456
Yukon 1 25 1 4 0 0 1 10 0 0 3 39
Northwest Territories 0 0 1 49 1 10 1 6 0 0 3 65
Nunavut 0 0 2 47 0 0 0 0 1 12 3 59
Canada 161 6,013 82 3,955 53 1,607 78 1,091 63 2,519 437 15,185

National summary: Change in emergency shelter beds by clientele served, 2019-2021

The total number of emergency beds serving adults of all genders ("General") decreased by 8% from 2020 to 2021. The proportion of  those serving families increased to 17% of total beds, from 10% in 2020. This change is due in part to the reclassification of shelters serving "women with or without children" under the clientele serving "Women" to "Family" clientele beginning in 2021. The number of beds serving only men has declined since 2019, as well as those who serve youth.

Figure 7: Number of emergency shelter beds by clientele served, Canada, 2019-2021

Figure 7: Number of emergency shelter beds by clientele served, Canada, 2019-2021
  • Figure 7 - Text version
    Clientele served 2019 2020 2021
    General 6,062 6,559 6,013
    Men 5,023 4,367 3,955
    Women 1,976 2,015 1,607
    Youth 1,472 1,451 1,091
    Families 1,738 1,617 2,519

Appendix A: Transitional housing capacity, by province and territory, 2019-2021

Table 3: Number of transitional housing facilities and permanent beds, by province and territory, 2019-2021
Province and territory Shelters Beds
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021
Newfoundland and Labrador 4 4 4 102 32 32
Nova Scotia 10 10 12 128 125 148
New Brunswick 4 7 13 37 48 66
Prince Edward Island 0 0 1 0 0 9
Quebec 114 116 153 2,428 2,358 2,796
Ontario 106 116 149 2,134 2,128 2,764
Manitoba 10 11 16 349 441 297
Saskatchewan 23 20 22 309 235 244
Alberta 36 38 35 1,135 1,108 711
British Columbia 33 41 43 972 1,179 1,017
Yukon 1 2 0 2 4 0
Northwest Territories 5 5 4 98 97 66
Nunavut 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canada 346 370 452 7,694 7,755 8,150

Appendix B: Transitional housing capacity by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021

Table 4: Number of transitional housing facilities and permanent beds, by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021
Province and territory General shelters General beds Men's shelters Men's beds Women's shelters Women's beds Youth shelters Youth beds Family shelters Family beds Total shelters Total beds
Newfoundland and Labrador 1 3 0 0 1 4 2 25 0 0 4 32
Prince Edward Island 1 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 9
Nova Scotia 3 54 1 19 1 5 5 49 2 21 12 148
New Brunswick 5 16 0 0 1 8 7 42 0 0 13 66
Quebec 60 893 21 791 6 82 27 357 39 673 153 2,796
Ontario 30 610 28 811 19 317 53 683 19 343 149 2,764
Manitoba 7 142 3 55 2 34 4 66 0 0 16 297
Saskatchewan 5 81 4 45 1 10 9 62 3 46 22 244
Alberta 4 80 7 299 4 151 17 145 3 36 35 711
British Columbia 26 739 5 135 1 10 8 78 3 55 43 1,017
Yukon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Northwest Territories 1 6 1 32 0 0 1 10 1 18 4 66
Nunavut 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Canada 143 2,633 70 2,187 36 621 133 1,517 70 1,192 452 8,150

Appendix C: Domestic violence shelter capacity, by province and territory, 2019-2021

Table 5: Number of domestic violence shelters and permanent beds, by province and territory, 2019-2021
Province and territory Shelters Beds
2019 2020 2021 2019 2020 2021
Newfoundland and Labrador 21 14 20 176 191 187
Nova Scotia 17 16 23 211 242 309
New Brunswick 18 18 20 303 303 283
Prince Edward Island 3 3 3 45 43 43
Quebec 109 104 138 1,370 1,466 1,776
Ontario 136 134 159 2,510 2,629 2,896
Manitoba 23 19 20 385 414 353
Saskatchewan 15 16 17 238 277 322
Alberta 54 52 57 1,291 1,329 1,297
British Columbia 132 109 141 1,259 1,329 1,601
Yukon 6 8 6 52 101 65
Northwest Territories 6 6 5 44 44 34
Nunavut 5 4 3 41 41 31
Canada 545 503 612 7,925 8,409 9,197

Appendix D: Domestic violence shelter capacity by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021

Table 6: Number of domestic violence shelters and permanent beds by clientele served, per province and territory, 2021
Province and territory General shelters General beds Men's shelters Men's beds Women's shelters Women's beds Youth shelters Youth beds Family shelters Family beds Total shelters Total beds
Newfoundland and Labrador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 187 20 187
Prince Edward Island 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 43 3 43
Nova Scotia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 309 23 309
New Brunswick 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 283 20 283
Quebec 3 46 6 52 0 0 0 0 129 1,678 138 1,776
Ontario 3 39 0 0 3 30 5 25 148 2,802 159 2,896
Manitoba 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 353 20 353
Saskatchewan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 322 17 322
Alberta 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 56 1,290 57 1,297
British Columbia 0 0 0 0 2 27 0 0 139 1,574 141 1,601
Yukon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 65 6 65
Northwest Territories 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 34 5 34
Nunavut 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 31 3 31
Canada 7 92 6 52 5 57 5 25 589 8,971 612 9,197

Appendix E: Glossary

Emergency shelters
A permanent facility that provides temporary, short-term accommodation (typically less than 3 months in duration) for homeless individuals and families. There is no cost to service users and no referral or entry application is necessary to access the service. Counselling, treatment and other support services including food and clothing may be available to the people who access the service, but participation is not mandatory. Often only a place to sleep is provided.
Transitional Housing
Facilities that provide temporary, longer-term accommodation for homeless or at risk of homelessness individuals and/or families. Transitional housing is an intermediate step between emergency shelter and permanent housing. They differ from emergency shelters by a longer length of stay and greater intensity of support services. Stays typically last between 3 months and 3 years.
Domestic violence shelter
Facilities that provide temporary accommodation (emergency beds) to individuals and/or families fleeing domestic abuse or the threat of violence that functions either as a crisis capacity or as transitional/second stage housing, which refers to units designed to provide them with transitional accommodation when they decide not to return to the family home.
Homelessness
The living situation of an individual or family who does not have stable, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring a home.
Large population centres
Communities with a population greater than 100,000.
Medium population centres
Communities with a population between 30,000 and 99,999.
Small population centres
Communities with a population between 1,000 and 29,999.
Youth shelters
Provide services to youth. Some serve all genders, others only serve girls/women or boys/men. Shelters have varying definitions of youth, often ranging from 12 to 29 years of age.
Women's shelters
Provide services to adults identifying as women. Some also accept girls.
Men's shelters
Provide services to adults identifying as men. Some also accept boys.
General shelters
Provide services to adults of all genders. Some also accept youth of all genders.
Family shelters
Provide services to families and adults with dependents. Some also accept single adult women without dependents.
Homelessness service providers
Service provider organizations that provide services to homeless individuals and families, and persons at risk of homelessness.

Related data

The comprehensive national service provider list of emergency shelters and transitional housing facilities in 2021

Statistic Canada data table: Homeless shelter capacity, bed and shelter counts for emergency shelters, transitional housing and domestic violence shelters by geography and reference period (from 2016 to 2021)

References

Statistics Canada. (2022). "Population and Dwelling Counts: Canada and Population Centres" 2021 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-10-0011-01. Ottawa, Ontario. January 30. Retrieved from: Table 98-10-0011-01  Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres

Statistics Canada. (2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories"2021 and 2016 Censuses. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016001. Ottawa, Ontario. February 8. Retrieved from: Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories (statcan.gc.ca)