Ottawa poll: homelessness tops policing and transit as key election issue

What the poll found

More than half of residents believe someone they care about faces at least a small risk of becoming homeless, up from 46% in 2019. Over three-quarters say homelessness has serious impacts on people, and 60% say it has ramifications for the country as a whole. About a third of Ottawa households are believed unable to afford healthy food.

Ottawa Mission CEO Peter Tilley said homelessness, food insecurity, substance use and mental health distress have gone "far beyond an emergency to now catastrophic levels." The shelter runs at over 100% capacity, every bed full, with people sleeping on mats in the chapel and chairs in the lounge. Its 2025–2026 impact report shows about 1,370 people stayed in the shelter last year (excluding repeat visits), 12% of them refugees; for the fourth straight year it served over a million meals, including a record 19,684 Thanksgiving meals — almost 1,300 more than in 2025.

Perceived causes have shifted: just over half now see physical or mental illness or addictions as the largest contributor, down from 62% in 2019, while about 23% point to a lack of affordable housing, up from 2019. Tilley urged the city to strengthen the renoviction bylaw passed this spring and restore municipal funding for new affordable and supportive housing to $30 million a year.

Nanos conducted a random telephone survey of 815 Ottawa residents aged 18 and over from September 25 to October 6, 2026; the margin of error is ±3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Sources: CityNews Ottawa, Nanos Research, the Ottawa Mission.