More funding, more problems: tent cities grow despite billions spent
Encampment situations only continue to grow as funding to end them increases, highlighting a growing contradiction between spending and outcomes.
Toronto, Canada’s largest city, is struggling with a shameful reality: tent encampments have surged by 20%, spilling into neighbourhoods once insulated from such visible signs of poverty.
This alarming proliferation of third-world conditions in a first-world nation is not merely a housing crisis — it’s a glaring indictment of a decade of Liberal financial and economic mismanagement under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
As record numbers of Canadians turn to food banks and face crushing tax burdens that fail to deliver better services, the growing visibility of encampments and widespread economic strain underscore failed government policies that have destroyed its citizens’ most basic needs: shelter, food, and clothing. Over the past ten years, Liberal policies have ballooned federal spending while delivering diminishing returns.
One such instance is the federal government’s recent pledge of $25.8 million over two years to the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI), intended to address Toronto’s “immediate needs related to encampments,” alongside a $400 million contribution from the City of Toronto, supported by the Province of Ontario. An additional $2.55 billion has been allocated for 4,831 new rental homes — 1,075 of which are to be deemed affordable — further complemented by $234.83 million in municipal incentives for developers.
In total, these efforts are part of a $7.3 billion low-cost loan program administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) through the Apartment Construction Loan Program (ACLP). In spite of these eye-popping figures, encampments are multiplying, food bank usage has hit record highs, and Canadians are paying more in taxes than they spend on housing, groceries, and clothing combined.
The average Canadian family paid more in 2023 on taxes than it did on housing, food and clothing – combined!
— The Fraser Institute (@FraserInstitute) July 30, 2024
Learn more: https://t.co/EHswUo294R #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/st11qLJaqI
This is no accident — it’s the predictable outcome of a government addicted to reckless spending and bureaucratic bloat. The Liberal promise of prosperity has crumbled under the weight of soaring deficits, with federal debt doubling since 2015 while services stagnate, at best, or decline, at worst. Canadians are taxed at historic levels, yet they see little in return: crumbling infrastructure, overwhelmed healthcare systems, and a housing market that locks out all but the wealthiest.
Food banks, once a last resort, now serve millions — with 3.5 million visits last year, more than Toronto’s entire population, which is almost one million more visits than the year prior and a whopping 273% increase since 2019. Meanwhile, the cost of living has skyrocketed, driven by carbon taxes, regulatory red tape, and inflationary policies that erode purchasing power.
The explosion of encampments is a visceral symbol of this failure. It signals not just a housing shortage but a deeper betrayal: a government that prioritizes grandiose announcements over results.
Are funds being siphoned into inefficient programs? Is bureaucratic ineptitude choking progress? Or has the scale of Liberal-induced economic ruin simply overwhelmed the system? The answer likely lies in a toxic mix of all three.
Throwing money at problems without accountability or a coherent strategy has become a hallmark of this government, leaving Canadians to foot the bill while their basic needs go unmet.
As tents multiply across Toronto’s streets, they stand as a stark reminder of a decade of Liberal governance. Canadians deserve better than record tax burdens and empty promises. They deserve leadership that delivers affordable housing, accessible food, and economic stability, not photo ops and platitudes. Without a drastic course correction, the encampments, food bank lines, and financial despair will only grow, cementing a legacy of ruin that will take decades to undo.
With fellow Canadians preparing to cast their ballots in the federal election just under two weeks away, let this stark reality guide the choice: a decade of Liberal mismanagement that has left cities scarred with encampments, food banks overwhelmed, and wallets drained by taxes that deliver nothing but broken promises.
Choose wisely.
COMMENTS
-
Bruce Atchison commented 2025-04-11 19:48:28 -0400The answer to this problem is obvious. But the socialists want a poor and compliant population to rule over. And their ideas never benefit the citizens. Only the top government levels and crony capitalists benefit.
