Analysis: Can Carney’s government change Canada’s homelessness trajectory? CBC examines the challenge

A renewed federal ambition

Carney is not the first prime minister to set a major goal on homelessness. Three years after an earlier commitment, the Trudeau government said it was aiming to eliminate chronic homelessness across Canada.

A worsening national picture

The 2025 national enumeration recorded more than 65,000 people homeless on a given night, a 59 per cent rise over five years. The share living in unsheltered places, including encampments, grew from 23 per cent to 27 per cent.

Tim Richter of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness linked the increase to several overlapping pressures, including the housing and affordability crises, the pandemic and the toxic drug supply. He said the problem built over time before intensifying around 2018 and 2019.

Housing and provincial roles

The Carney government plans to renew the Canada Housing Benefit, which supplements rent for low-income Canadians, and continue Reaching Home, a program that funds community efforts. Richter’s organization and researcher Nick Falvo say a larger, better-targeted benefit could further reduce homelessness.

The federal government has also proposed a renewed partnership with provinces: Ottawa would fund construction, while provinces would cover operations and services. Falvo identifies those ongoing provincial costs as a major challenge.

Manitoba and measures of progress

Manitoba has agreed to a joint effort. The federal government committed $800 million to build 2,000 supportive and transitional homes, plus $200 million for a mental health and addictions centre; the province will fund operations and half the centre’s construction cost.

Richter says completely eliminating homelessness is unrealistic, but describes “functional zero” as a goal in which a community houses more people than become homeless in a month. A survey commissioned by his organization found that 66 per cent of Canadians encounter homelessness at least weekly, and 60 per cent say it has worsened in their community.