Homelessness has become an inescapable reality in Canada’s urban centres, with tent encampments occupying parks, streets, and public spaces. While these encampments have sparked outrage, policy debates, and community conflict, they are not the problem—they are a symptom of a broader systemic failure. Tim Richter, CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, has long argued that homelessness is a solvable issue. Yet Canada’s disjointed responses and short-term strategies seem to deepen the crisis instead of resolving it.
At the heart of this crisis lies a fundamental question: Why do thousands of people still live on the streets in a country as wealthy as Canada? Encampments are the most visible expression of this failure, forcing governments to confront public outcry without addressing the root causes. The problem is not just about tents—it’s about the policies, priorities, and systemic gaps that allow such encampments to exist in the first place.
The Visible Symptom of a Deeper Issue
Encampments have become the flashpoint of Canada’s homelessness crisis, drawing media attention and public scrutiny. Yet their existence directly results from systemic failures, not individual choice or inevitability. With shelters at capacity, housing unaffordable, and support services underfunded, encampments are often the last resort for those left behind by a broken system.
Efforts to clear encampments have repeatedly proven ineffective. Displacing individuals without providing alternatives does nothing to address homelessness. Instead, it pushes people further into isolation, forcing them into alleys, wooded areas, or less visible but equally precarious conditions. These actions may satisfy short-term political pressures but do little to create lasting solutions.
Richter’s approach likens homelessness to a disaster, suggesting governments should respond with the same urgency and coordination as they would to floods or wildfires. This analogy underscores the need for a systemic overhaul that prioritizes immediate relief while laying the groundwork for long-term solutions. While highly visible, encampments are not the problem; they manifest deeper issues within Canada’s housing, healthcare, and social support systems.
Housing First is a Proven Model Awaiting Full Implementation
The Housing First model is widely recognized as the most effective approach to addressing chronic homelessness. Providing stable, permanent housing without preconditions allows individuals to rebuild their lives and access the support they need. This approach improves outcomes for those experiencing homelessness and reduces public costs by decreasing reliance on emergency services.
Despite its success, Housing First has not been fully implemented in British Columbia or other parts of Canada. Temporary shelters and transitional housing dominate the landscape, diverting resources from more permanent solutions. While these emergency responses are necessary in the short term, they often become long-term crutches that fail to address the root causes of homelessness.
The financial and social benefits of Housing First are clear, yet its adoption remains inconsistent. Scaling this model across British Columbia would require significant investment and political commitment. However, the payoff—reduced homelessness, improved public safety, and lower healthcare costs—makes it an investment worth pursuing.
A System Fragmented by Jurisdictional Gaps
A lack of coordination between federal, provincial, and municipal governments exacerbates Canada’s homelessness crisis. Each level of government has its own responsibilities, but these often overlap or conflict, resulting in inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Without a unified strategy, resources are spread thin, and inconsistent priorities undermine efforts.
British Columbia exemplifies these challenges. Municipalities are often left to address encampments and homelessness with limited resources, while provincial and federal governments focus on broader policy initiatives that fail to address local needs. This fragmentation leaves gaps that vulnerable populations fall through, perpetuating cycles of homelessness and poverty.
To address these jurisdictional issues, governments must adopt a coordinated approach that aligns funding, policy, and execution. Municipalities need support from higher levels of government to implement comprehensive strategies that go beyond crisis management. Only through collaboration can Canada move from reactive responses to proactive solutions.
The Role of Public Perception and Political Will
Public attitudes toward homelessness play a significant role in shaping government responses. Often viewed as public nuisances, encampments attract criticism and calls for immediate action. However, these reactions often prioritize optics over outcomes, leading to ineffective measures like encampment sweeps that do nothing to address the underlying crisis.
Political will is equally critical. Homelessness is not a resource problem—it’s a policy problem. Governments have the tools to resolve it, but doing so requires courage and long-term commitment. Quick fixes may satisfy public opinion in the short term but fail to create sustainable change. Leaders must be willing to invest in comprehensive strategies that prioritize housing, healthcare, and social support over temporary solutions.
Changing public perception is also essential. Shifting the narrative from blame to understanding can create the political pressure needed to implement systemic reforms. Advocacy and education efforts must emphasize that homelessness is a solvable problem, not an inevitable part of urban life.
What Needs to Change in British Columbia
British Columbia faces unique challenges in addressing homelessness, from its high cost of living to its severe housing shortage. Addressing these issues requires a multi-faceted approach combining immediate relief and long-term planning. Expanding access to affordable housing is a critical first step, as is increasing funding for mental health and addiction services.
Richter highlights the importance of wraparound services, which provide individuals with the support they need to transition from homelessness to stability. These include job training, counseling, and healthcare, all of which are essential for addressing the root causes of homelessness. However, these services must be integrated into a broader strategy prioritizing Housing First.
Listening to those with lived experience is also key. Policies that incorporate the insights of people who have experienced homelessness are more likely to address real needs and create lasting change. This community-driven approach ensures that solutions are practical, equitable, and effective.
A Systemic Crisis Demands Systemic Accountability
Homelessness in British Columbia is not merely a social or economic challenge but a failure of imagination. For too long, responses have been constrained by short-term thinking and incrementalism, as if the scope of the crisis is too vast to confront directly. But this crisis demands not just action but innovation. It requires a willingness to break from past patterns and rethink how resources are allocated and how society defines its obligations to its most vulnerable members.
The current approach, driven by piecemeal measures and political expediency, has made homelessness seem inevitable. Yet history shows that bold, systemic change is possible when the will exists. Nations have rebuilt after wars, cities have risen from the ashes of disaster, and public health campaigns have eradicated diseases once thought untouchable. The homelessness crisis, too, could be met with the same transformative energy—if governments and stakeholders embrace the scale of the challenge as an opportunity for lasting progress.
The path forward is not a straight line, nor is it free of complexity. It will require hard choices, significant investment, and a willingness to disrupt entrenched systems that have failed to deliver. But the alternative is clear: an endless cycle of displacement, emergency interventions, and public frustration. British Columbia has a chance to lead the country in redefining what is possible—not by managing homelessness, but by ending it. To do so, it must reject incrementalism and seize the moment for comprehensive reform. The question is no longer whether the solutions exist—it is whether the courage to implement them does.
Denise is a long-time advocate for affordable and dignified housing in the Downtown Eastside. Having lived in SROs and volunteered in homeless shelters, she brings a personal understanding of the housing crisis and its impact on the community. Her work reflects years of lived experience, frontline work, and commitment to creating better living conditions for DTES residents.
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