Homelessness numbers trending upward in Ottawa

The point-in-time count, the first since 2021, began on Wednesday at noon and finished on Thursday at the same time.

The City of Ottawa has conducted a count of who in the city is homeless, at a time when people experiencing or on the verge of experiencing homelessness say housing is precarious.

City of Ottawa staff participating in a count of homelessness this week say anecdotally the number of homeless people has gone up over the last three years.

The point-in-time count, the first since 2021, began on Wednesday at noon and finished on Thursday at the same time.

The last point-in-time count in 2021 found that there were 1,340 homeless people in Ottawa. In 2018, there were 1,400.

City staff say final numbers for the 2024 count will be out in the coming weeks.