Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC)

06/20/2026

We are pleased to be celebrating our 60th Anniversary and Annual Community Impact Event on Tuesday, June 23rd.

If you haven't already reserved your spot, register today as seating is limited: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sprc-hamiltons-60th-anniversary-annual-community-impact-event-tickets-1989119310403?aff=oddtdtcreator.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Join us for an evening of celebrating 60 years of community impact!

06/01/2026

We’re partnering with Open Streets Hamilton!

On Sunday, June 7 from 10am-4pm, King Street East (John St → Gage Ave) will transform into a 3.6 km car-free space for walking, biking, rolling, and community fun.

Find us at the Wellington Street Hub — We’ll have activities to Activate, Create, Take a Break!

Along the route you’ll also find: Activation Hubs with games, music & activities

- A food court at The Kitchen Collective
- Community programming at Ferguson Station & Barnesdale’s Mini Hub
- Local businesses open with pop-ups & sales

It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s all about community. Learn more at hamilton.ca/openstreets

05/25/2026

The Family and Child Poverty in Hamilton report is the first Hamilton report to use the Campaign 2000 framework to examine family and child poverty in our community. Using taxfiler data, this new report explores family and child poverty. The findings show that Hamilton's child poverty rate of 21.1% in 2023 is higher than both the Canadian rate (18.3%) and the Ontario rate (19.9%). That means that one in five children in Hamilton are living in poverty. This is over 24,000 children in Hamilton, which would fill the TD Coliseum (18,000 capacity) and Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University (6,000 capacity).

Using taxfiler data, this report explores child and youth poverty, family poverty, depth of poverty, and the impacts of poverty on housing, food security, and income security. It also examines community participation, belonging, and social inclusion.

As Campaign 2000 indicated in its 2025 report, government transfers are a foundational component of Canada’s poverty reduction architecture. They play a critical role in reducing income insecurity, rapidly lowering poverty rates, and narrowing inequality by raising the minimum income floor. Yet, Canada’s current income security system remains inadequate.

To read the report, go to

Using taxfiler data, the new SPRC report Family and Child Poverty in Hamilton report explores child and youth poverty, family poverty, depth of poverty, and the impacts of poverty on housing, food security, and income security, It also examines community participation, belonging, and social inclusio...

05/07/2026

The has begun! Look for your census letter in the mail. Census data paint a portrait of Canadians and their stories.

By completing the census, you help:
💪 Strengthen social supports
📈 Stimulate economic growth
🏗️ Build community infrastructure
📊Improve long-term planning for services

Complete your census today: https://www.census.gc.ca/

04/20/2026

Join us for our FREE webinar taking place virtually on Wednesday, April 22nd, from 10:30am to 11:30am, where the findings of SPRC Hamilton's latest report, Disability and Demographics: Profile of Persons with Activity Limitations in Hamilton, will be discussed.

Panelists will include:

- Sara Mayo, SPRC Hamilton Social Planner and report author

- Sarah Jama, Disability Justice Network of Ontario

- James Kemp, Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities Subcommittee

To register for the webinar, go to https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/community-conversation-disability-and-demographics-from-sprc-hamilton-tickets-1979368830455?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

04/09/2026

New report released - Disability and Demographics: Profile of Persons with Activity Limitations in Hamilton

Using 2021 Census data on activity limitations, this new report explores types of disability, demographics like ages, gender, immigration status, and further characteristics such as housing, income, education, and employment to gain insights into the Hamilton residents with disabilities.

The report recommends three major focus areas to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Hamilton:

1. Centre the voices of people with disabilities.

2. Strengthen disability income supports.

3. Improve disability data collection.

To view the Report on our website, go to

Using 2021 Census data on activity limitations, this new report explores types of disability, demographics like ages, gender, immigration status, and further characteristics such as housing, income, education, and employment to gain insights into the Hamilton residents with disabilities. The finding...

03/25/2026

This year, nearly 68,500 students, educators and community members across Hamilton’s 143 locations will take part, joining hundreds of thousands more across Canada. In classrooms and schoolyards, students and teachers will pause, count down and take a bite of an apple at the same time. For a few seconds, our city — and communities across the country — will be connected by one shared, unmistakable crunch.

But it’s also part of something larger. The Great Big Crunch is a Canada-wide moment of “anti-silence,” where communities come together to make noise for healthy school food. It’s a simple idea with a powerful message: small, shared actions can spark awareness and change.

Read more from Bhairavi Kumar, program manager of Tastebuds, Hamilton’s student nutrition collaborative at

Moments like this may seem small, but they point to something much bigger.

03/23/2026

We are currently seeking an Administrative Outreach Coordinator for an 18-month Maternity Contract.

Position Summary:
To provide administrative support to the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC), coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, minutes, and reports. Provide support for and coordinate community- based events. Update and contribute content for social media, website, and newsletters.

This is a part-time position offering 13.5-20.25 hours per week with an expected start date of May 4th. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

If you would like to learn more about this position, please visit

About the Organization: The Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton promotes equity, informs policy and planning decisions and increases community engagement to improve social conditions. We accomplish this through research, policy analysis, community partnerships and program delivery. Our....

03/19/2026

SPRC’s most recent bulletin focuses on concerning trends in the growth of Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) beneficiaries experiencing homelessness in Hamilton. Building on the recent work of Maytree to quantify the link between Ontario’s deeply inadequate social assistance program and the growing homelessness crisis across the province, SPRC has undertaken an in-depth analysis of the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services data for Hamilton, which highlights an overrepresentation of ODSP beneficiaries among unhoused people in Hamilton.

You can read the bulletin at

A recent policy brief from Maytree Foundation highlights how Ontario’s deeply inadequate social assistance program directly contributes to the growing homelessness crisis across the province. Through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for data from the Ministry of Children, Community and Socia...

02/02/2026

CALL FOR BOARD MEMBERS – 2026

The Social Planning & Research Council of Hamilton (SPRC Hamilton) is a registered charitable organization governed by a community-based Board of Directors, and we are currently seeking new members to join our Board of Directors.

We strive to promote equity, inform policy and planning decisions, and increase community engagement to improve social conditions. We accomplish this through local community social research, policy analysis, program delivery, and collaborative systems planning. Our key areas of focus as an organization are supporting equity, poverty elimination, housing security, and the healthy development of children and families.

We have identified the following as skills needed for at least one of our current vacancies:
-Finance and/or Accounting Acumen
-Fundraising
-Human Resources
-Non-Profit Management
-Professional or Lived Experience with Poverty
-Professional or Lived Experience with Housing

In addition, we welcome applications from Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, persons with lived experience of marginalization, and persons with disabilities.

If interested, please:

1) Complete the application form: https://forms.office.com/r/JQbJhPB44d.

2) Upload a current resume outlining your skills and/or areas of experience as they relate to participating on a policy governance board, including any experience you have in the above-mentioned priority areas: https://sprc.bamboohr.com/careers/36?source=aWQ9OQ%3D%3D

The application deadline is February 20, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.