Toronto Needs Fair Federal Support for Refugee Housing
- councillorcarroll
- Aug 21
- 2 min read
This week, the issue of sheltering refugees has returned to the headlines. It is an important discussion, not only because it affects newcomers seeking safety, but also because the way governments handle it can have a direct impact on your household finances.
You may recall that in 2022, then Mayor, John Tory first raised the alarm that refugees were being admitted at a rate the City could not keep up with. In the summer of 2023, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie and I held a press conference to notify the Federal Government and the public that Toronto’s shelters, refugee housing partners, and emergency intake facilities were completely over capacity. Without the Federal Government paying its share, we warned that the system would collapse.
Following a prolonged dispute with the Government of Canada during the 2024 Budget process, Mayor Chow secured federal funding through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP). At that time, IHAP covered 95 percent of costs, leaving municipalities to absorb only a small administrative share.
The new Federal Government has just changed IHAP. Instead of reimbursing cities for their actual refugee housing costs, the program has become a grant, based solely on what the government chooses to provide each year. Toronto has now learned that we will receive only enough to cover 26 percent of our costs to house, feed, and support refugee claimants into employment and independent housing.
Every night, Toronto shelters more than 3,500 refugee claimants and asylum seekers. Our city is a beacon of hope, which is why so many arrive here each day determined to build a better life. If this change to IHAP stands, the majority of the cost of helping them get started in Canada will fall on your property taxes.
This is not a debate about whether these families and individuals should be admitted. The issue is how we fund the costs. Social costs were never intended to be paid from property taxes. When Canada faces a need this urgent, costs should be shared by Canadians based on income, not property assessments.
Property taxes are designed to fund local services that maintain the value of property being taxed. They are never calculated on income. National social costs, like refugee settlement, must be funded through federal income taxes so the responsibility is distributed fairly.
Prime Minister Carney is known as one of the world’s most brilliant economic minds. He understands that these costs should not be shifted onto property taxpayers, and we need him to apply that knowledge now.
At the Ontario Big City Mayors meeting this week, Mayors unanimously adopted a motion calling on the Federal Government to fulfill their commitments under IHAP and fund at least 95 percent of municipal shelter costs for refugee claimants and asylum seekers. I encourage you to echo this request when you meet our new local MP, Maggie Chi.
Canadians take pride in being a welcoming community, and supporting refugees is part of who we are as Torontonians. Being welcoming comes with the responsibility to provide the resources needed. Predictable, sustainable federal funding is essential to ensure that newcomers can transition successfully into their new lives, while protecting local taxpayers from shouldering costs that belong to all Canadians.
