Statement by Minister Sean Fraser on Status of Negotiations with Provinces and Territories to Address Encampments

As much progress as Canada makes to solve the housing crisis, it will not be over as long as there are people living in tents.

On September 18, 2024, I sent a letter to each province and territory asking them to partner with the federal government to urgently find shelter for those experiencing homelessness or living in encampments. In the letter, we offered millions of dollars in additional funding in exchange for partnering with us and matching our contributions.

The funding on offer is the $250 million we announced to address the urgent issue of encampments and unsheltered homelessness in Budget 2024. This is in addition to federal investments through the:

• Reaching Home program to prevent and reduce homelessness;
• Affordable Housing Fund and bilateral agreements under the National Housing Strategy to build affordable and supportive housing;
• Co-operative Housing Development Program to support growth in the co-op sector;
• Apartment Construction Loan Program to build more rental homes in the market for middle-class Canadians; and
• Housing Accelerator Fund to help cities make it easier to build more homes, faster.

One month has passed since we made the offer. To date, the following provinces have not formally responded to us to help find homes for those in need, and end encampments in their respective jurisdictions:

• Alberta
• Ontario
• Saskatchewan

While some have since entered election periods, there was ample engagement before the letter was sent, and there is no longer time to wait as the weather gets colder. In these cases – along with any others who do not take quick action  – we are now approaching municipalities directly to work with them, urgently.

If a province or territory partners with us, they will be able to select the communities that will get funding from us. Should they wish to forego a partnership with us, we will rely on the best available data to inform our decisions.

We will approach five cities first given their readiness to quickly adopt cost-matched responses. They are: Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Regina, and Saskatoon. This list is not exhaustive, as we will be approaching more communities that have demonstrated an ability to quickly respond to encampments.

No one level of government can tackle the housing crisis, or support those in need, alone. I am disappointed that these provincial governments are not willing to partner with us, as it means we cannot support as many communities as we would have been able to had they come to the table with funding and solutions. But, let me be clear: we will no longer wait for them to muster the political will to act as winter gets closer and lives are put at risk.