York Region’s Health and Well-Being Review highlights growing service demands

Newmarket – York Regional Council received a 2024 York Region Health and Well-Being Review highlighting complex needs affecting residents and the increased demand for services, creating pressures for the Region and community partners.

“Regional Council remains committed to supporting residents and has made investments to address these growing concerns in our communities,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Eric Jolliffe. “However, funding from senior levels of government has not kept pace with the increasing demand. Sustained funding and creative collaboration are crucial to prevent these challenges from becoming more acute and widespread.”

York Region is responsible for delivering a range of provincially mandated human services to our residents. Trends identified in the Health and Well-Being Review are driving increased demand for programs and services delivered by the Region and community partners, including population growth, shifting demographics, decreasing income security and mental health and well-being challenges.

In 2024 in response to community needs, York Region took action by adding 139 new beds in emergency and transitional housing, hotels and seasonal shelters, supporting over 21,600 recipients of Ontario Works. The Region also raised awareness of income as a key factor in food access through developing and releasing Nutritious Food Basket Reports and participating in community events.

“Income insecurity can result in residents being unable to afford housing and food, resulting in them relying on social assistance and food programs,” said City of Vaughan Regional Councillor Gino Rosati, Chair of Community and Health Services. “Creative solutions, collaborating with our partners and advocating for funding and policy adjustments, such as implementing a living wage and increasing social assistance rates to address these very serious and complex issues, are essential to improving access to services and programs for residents in our communities.”

Investments made by Regional Council have resulted in impactful action in communities, enhanced strategic partnerships and integrated services to help residents in need. This includes collaborating with non-profits and partner agencies and investing an additional $12.8 million annually for the remainder of this term of Council in critical social infrastructure. Increasing and sustaining the community housing supply is a key priority, which requires working with our partners to develop a sustainable community housing funding model with increased and predictable funding.

York Region alone cannot sustain the investment needed to address income insecurity, case complexity and the housing affordability crisis. Ensuring residents’ health and well-being is a shared responsibility that requires support from all levels of government.

Facts in the 2024 York Region Health and Well-Being Review include:

• Latest data from 2022 shows 18.6% of York Region residents are living below the low-income threshold, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 16.8% in 2019
• More than a quarter of homeowners (26.9% or 86,449) and just under half of renters (46.7% or 32,485) in York Region are spending 30% or more of their income on shelter costs, according to Census 2021
• In 2023, an estimated 19.4% of York Region households experienced food insecurity, increasing from 15.5% over the span of 2021 to 2022
• By 2051, seniors are expected to make up approximately 24% (over 499,000) of the population
• In 2021, York Region was home to an estimated 557,000 immigrants, making up 47.8% of the total population
• In December 2024, 21,648 people in York Region were supported by Ontario Works, an 84% increase from December 2018 of 11,746
• Demand for subsidized housing is outpacing the Region’s capacity; in 2024, about 4,500 new applications were added to the waitlist, while 436 households were housed

Working closely with partners, senior levels of government and maintaining a strong focus on advocacy, the Region is committed to responding to these socio-demographic changes and challenges and continuing to support the community.

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to over 1.25 million residents and 57,000 businesses with more than 629,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/RegionalServices

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Media Contact

Tamara Ostrowski, Corporate Communications,
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 1-877-464-9675, ext. 71226
Cell: 905-251-6412
tamara.ostrowski@york.ca