The city of Hamilton recorded its worst ever month for homelessness in January 2026, with 2,111 individuals known by city agencies to be homeless.
Even worse, the number of people who are chronically homeless—that is, homeless for more than six months—spiked to its highest level at 956. The longer someone is homeless, the more likely they are to suffer physical and mental health problems and other negative effects. Since the city began its official counts in January 2020, homelessness has grown from 864 to 2,111 or by more than 1½ times.
Homelessness is deadly. It was recently reported that at least 148 people experiencing homelessness in Hamilton have died in the four years ending in May 2025. Their average age at death was just 46—35 years less than the average life expectancy of 81 in Hamilton. The largest proportion died in hospital or unsheltered, but 32 died in a shelter. Sixty-five died of an overdose. People experiencing homelessness accounted for about one fifth of Hamilton’s suspected overdose deaths in that period.
It’s important to understand that drug use among the homeless is often a result, but not often the cause, of homelessness. People who are homeless may start to use drugs to ease their pain from trauma, ill health, injury or mental illness made worse by being homeless or to stay awake to protect themselves and their things. However, drug use is not a common cause of homelessness. A 2023 Statistics Canada report said homelessness is caused primarily by financial challenges, then relationship issues and abuse.