toronto homeless shelters

Toronto to build temporary homeless shelters out of fabric

The City of Toronto is taking an unconventional, yet innovative approach to dealing with the growing number of refugees and homeless individuals who are in need of temporary shelter.

Paul Raftis of the city's Shelter, Support and Housing Administration division announced during a press conference on Wednesday that Toronto is purchasing four sophisticated, prefabricated structures to be used as 24-hour respite sites this summer and beyond.

The structures, which consist of aluminum frames covered with durable polyurethane fabric, will cost the city $2.5 million each — not including the expenses associated with managing them as shelters.

Sticker shock aside, Raftis says they're actually quite cost-effective in terms of increasing both capacity and service quality. 

Each tented structure will be insulated, accessible year-round, and can house up to 100 people each. They come equipped with washrooms, cots, televisions, laundry and dining facilities.

Those who make use of the Alberta-produced shelters will have access to showers, plumbing, electricity, air conditioning and heating.

Perhaps even more importantly, the structures include spaces for administrative offices to provide those experiencing homelessness with service referrals.

Raftis says the city will start installing the structures in vacant areas that have yet to be identified starting this August. They will replace the emergency centres set up this winter at Toronto's Exhibition Place and Moss Park armoury.

"We’re looking for large vacant areas that would be parking lot type areas where you can put these because you want to have a proper hard foundation for it to sit on top," he said to reporters on Wednesday.

"They are very flexible in terms where you can put them around the city, assuming you had the appropriate sized parking lot or space to put them," he continued. "We're not targeting putting these in parks."

Lead photo by

Sprung Structures


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's when Toronto could get its first snowfall of the year

Ontario child dies of rabies after contact with bat in their home

Canada just got a stunning new sundial coin that can actually tell time

Iconic 123-year-old Ontario bridge will be demolished and given futuristic replacement

Canadian parents can expect government payouts earlier than usual this month

Canada ranked among world's best countries

Canadian Tire store in Toronto under fire for mistreatment of workers

Ontario may still re-acquire 407 ETR to fix gridlock