Warming centres remain available in Toronto amidst extreme cold, city says

The City of Toronto’s warming centres are open, with those located in the downtown operating at capacity overnight, as a cold snap grips the area.

In a statement, the city said its emergency homelessness systems had been instructed not to turn anyone away from shelters or warming centres during the extreme cold.

Warming centres will remain open 24 hours a day, the city said.

On Friday night, in response to the cold weather, Toronto added 430 spaces to the shelter system. The city said that came on top of the 9,000 spaces already available.

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Warming centres in downtown Toronto and at Mitchell Field Community Centre were at capacity, the city said. Spaces at the Scarborough Civic Centre were available.

“Anyone that showed up to a Warming Centre that was full was welcomed inside while staff worked to refer them and provide transportation to one of the City’s temporary contingency spaces at shelter sites across the city,” the city said.

“As of 4 a.m., the temporary contingency spaces were not full and there remained space in the shelter system.”