From Shelters to Stability: Ontario’s Tiny Home Movement

What is a Tiny Home?

The Tiny Homes Movement in Ontario is gaining momentum as a promising solution to the shortcomings of traditional homeless shelters, which often fail to provide stable, supportive housing. Tiny homes are compact, self-contained units that typically include basic amenities such as a bed, electricity, and—depending on the model—a small kitchen or bathroom. These homes are often arranged in community-style settings, with access to shared washrooms, kitchens, and communal spaces to foster a sense of belonging, providing more support for individuals experiencing homelessness. Two remarkable examples of these homes can be seen in Toronto and Kitchener, with Tiny Tiny Homes and A Better Tent City.

How has this Helped Homelessness in Canada?

Although tiny homes have not become a permanent solution to solve homelessness in Canada, in terms of the Kitchener-Waterloo region, it has helped a lot of people get off the street and move into a community that is far more supportive than homeless shelters in the area. Shelters are overcrowded and understaffed, with little to no support from the city meaning most people are left to fend for themselves. Nadine Greene founded A Better Tent City to give individuals a chance to have something that they can consider their own, even with the region’s efforts to cut funding and limit the amount of people that live there (1). Ryan Donais has also attempted to do something similar in Toronto by building tiny, functional mobile homes mainly throughout St. James Park, however, Donais has been receiving quite a lot of pushback from the city as the Tiny Tiny Homes has been issued a cease and desist for the homes’ placement (2). Tiny Homes is seen to be a more functional solution to the growing homelessness crisis as it gets people off the street and into homes that they are able to call their own, further, it is a much better solution to Ontario’s issue with the encampments that continue to pop up across different regions.

Would this Improve Homelessness in Canada?

While there is no concrete, quick solution to homelessness, the growing tiny homes movement in Ontario is a perfect way to start. The overcrowding of homeless shelters and lack of available, sustainable housing creates unsafe environments for individuals. Tiny homes give people a home that is completely their own while also creating a sense of community amongst members of this housing strategy. While not a cure-all, these compact homes provide a vital stepping stone away from life on the streets and toward stability. As traditional shelter systems continue to struggle, initiatives like A Better Tent City and Tiny Tiny Homes offer a glimpse of what’s possible when compassion, innovation, and advocacy come together. If supported and scaled properly, tiny homes could play a crucial role in reshaping how we address homelessness in Canada—not as a crisis to contain, but as a human issue we have the tools and responsibility to solve.