'I almost froze': Toronto homeless man recounts night in subzero temperatures, advocates say death toll rising

Nick Popoulos is photographed in Toronto (Credit: Lyf Stolte)

Nick Popoulos almost froze to death this winter.

On Feb. 4, he was wearing long johns, snowmobile pants with suspenders, two fleeces and a heavy-duty jacket. “I know how to keep warm,” Popoulos told CTV News Toronto.

After a significant snowfall the first week of February, he spent two days shovelling snow and only slept six hours.

Popoulos recalled feeling the need to shut his eyes for a few minutes, so he borrowed a friend's car to sleep in. Typically, he said he drives it to an underground parking lot near Peter and Richmond streets.

But that day, he didn’t make it that far. “I was beyond tired, I was just out of it. I fell asleep for three or four hours.”

Popoulos said when he woke, he was sweating and shivering. He said his feet were numb to the point that he nearly fell out of the car when he tried to stand.

“I almost froze to death,” he said.

To thaw himself, he said he had to dry his damp skin with a towel and spread hand warmers across his frigid body.

That week, Environment Canada issued a winter weather advisory for a “multi-day snowfall” of 10 to 20 cm as temperatures plunged to minus 16 with the wind chill.

When Popoulos deemed himself able to leave the car, he walked across the street to 129 Peter St. where Streets to Homes outreach services is located. There, a group had gathered and was taking part in a memorial to commemorate members of the homeless community who had lost their lives in 2021.

“They were having a vigil for people that are frozen to death outside and I felt that was quite a coincidence,” he said.

Popoulos's personal battle with subzero temperatures follows the discovery of a body recently found frozen and dead on the streets of Toronto. Homeless advocates say this raises the tally of people who have frozen and died this winter to at least five.

A homeless person sits outside during an extreme cold weather alert for the City of Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

CITY-WIDE FREEZING DEATHS

Last Thursday, around 9 p.m., sirens flashed on the north side of Charles Street near Yonge Street.

Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker at Sanctuary Toronto, recalls running across the road to a narrow passageway behind Brass Rail Tavern where she saw a young Black man lying on the ground.

“He was kind of frozen to the ground,” Lam said. “They couldn’t lift him at all.”

Security cameras at Brass Rail Tavern captured the individual behind their establishment earlier in the day and said they noticed the body was still in the same position hours later.

“At that point, I called our managers to ask them to investigate,” Bill Greer, general manager of Brass Rail Tavern, told CTV News Toronto. “The body was cold and they called 911.”

Lam says the man in the passageway looked athletic and well dressed in long johns under his pants and a winter coat. Paraphernalia was discovered nearby, but Lam said it’s difficult to know if it was his or just in the area.

Like his identity, his housing status and cause of death are unknown. “We still don't know who he is,” Lam said. “We really don't have a lot more information.”

CTV News Toronto has reached out to city emergency services for a statement on whether they responded to any potential cold-related deaths on Feb. 3 and is awaiting a response.

“It is under police investigation,” Greer said.

However, Toronto police can only release the identity of individuals who are victims of homicides or suspicious incidents.

Both Toronto Public Health (TPH) and the Office of the Chief Coroner told CTV News Toronto they could not provide information on cold-related deaths that have taken place this winter.

“The data for July 2021 to December 2021 is currently undergoing quality assurance and analysis, and will be posted publicly on the dashboard when ready,” a TPH spokesperson said.

“So often we don’t know the causes of why somebody died, but what I can say is, I’m not surprised there is a number of freezing deaths this winter because this is what we expected would happen,” Lam said.

“But it’s happening enough that it’s sounding alarm bells.”