Advocate says homeless crisis is long-standing, affects more Canadians than reported

OTTAWA — Advocates are welcoming news that the federal government plans to end homelessness within 10 years — a crisis they say has been decades in the making.

This week’s federal budget estimated about 65,000 Canadians are homeless, but Tim Richter of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness thinks the true figure could be much higher.

Richter says the current housing crisis stems from the 1990s, when the federal government stopped funding social housing.

He said the problem has exploded since 2018 because of higher rents, a higher cost of living and a toxic drug crisis, adding to increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government has pledged $11.2 million over the next four years to address homelessness, including money for transitional and permanent housing and integrated social supports for things like mental health and addiction.

Richter says he hopes the 10-year federal plan will finally rally provinces and cities to tackle what the government has called “one of Canada’s most urgent social challenges.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2026.