Ending Homelessness The 2024 Winnipeg Street Census confirms the concerns of community organizations working with homeless people.
The number of homeless people stands at 2,469, an increase from previous figures. Indigenous peoples are overrepresented and make up 79.9 percent of this population.
People are losing housing because they can't afford it and because of health problems such as substance use and mental health issues. Housing Minister Bernadette Smith insists her plan to end chronic homelessness is “the right one”.
Let's take a closer look.
In January 2025, Prime Minister Wab Kinew's government published the Your Way Home plan to fulfill its election pledge to end chronic homelessness by 2031. The plan's immediate priority is housing the 700 people the province estimates live in the camps. The statement said it would “provide suitable housing… and connect people with the addictions, mental health and primary care support needed to successfully transition into this housing.”
Since the plan was launched, 77 people have been successfully housed in the camps, according to the province. Assuming that this number is expected to rise to 100 by the end of this year and each year thereafter, the plan is on track to house 700 people living in camps by 2031.
This would be a positive achievement.
But the province's commitment doesn't stop at the camps. More broadly, it has committed to ending chronic homelessness.
A person is considered chronically homeless if they have been homeless for an extended period and/or have experienced homelessness multiple times. The Street Census counts 1,679 people in this category and says this is likely an underestimate. Ending chronic homelessness will require providing stable housing for all those who are chronically homeless while preventing more people from becoming chronically homeless. Your Way Home states that “at the end of the next seven years, we are committed to ensuring that every Manitoban has a safe and secure place to live…”
How will the province achieve this? His long-term plan includes addressing the housing shortage and expanding mental health and addictions support, among other measures. These actions are in line with priorities that local housing advocates have long promoted.
But there are two key omissions from the province's plan: a long-term goal and timetable for expanding social housing and tightening rent regulation.
Housing advocates have set a long-term goal and timeline for the number of housing units needed to address housing insecurity and homelessness in Manitoba. Ahead of the 2024 budget, they called on the province to increase the supply of social housing by at least 1,000 income-related rent units annually for 10 years. In its first two budgets, the province committed to adding 1,020 social housing units, only half of what is needed over a two-year period.
While Your Way Home acknowledges that there is a housing shortage, it does not say how many units are needed to solve the problem. The province must set a target for the number of units it will add over the next six years of its plan. If that goal is different from what advocates say is needed, the province must be transparent about how it has determined what is needed so that we can track and measure progress toward that goal.
Until new units come online, people will continue to face homelessness. Many will seek housing in the commercial rental market, which is unaffordable to low-income renters, including those making minimum wage. Housing is considered affordable if it costs less than 30 percent of income. A person earning the minimum wage full-time must spend 46 percent of their income on rent for a studio apartment. Someone on public assistance must spend 100 percent of their income and still fall $359 short of the average rent for a studio apartment.
Unaffordable rents don't just make it difficult for homeless people to get housing.
According to the Street Census, high rents are also a major driver pushing sheltered people into homelessness. During the 2023 provincial election, Kinew promised to “strengthen rent control through legislation to protect tenants from significant rate increases.” The province proposed legislation to cap rent increases in the fall of 2024, but then let the bill die.
The province must provide enough affordable housing to end chronic homelessness.
This requires strengthening rent controls and setting a long-term target and timetable for significantly expanding the supply of social housing. Without these measures, the number of homeless people will continue to rise, outpacing current efforts to move people into housing. As of March 31, 2025, the province said it had completed only 16 of the 1,020 apartments it had promised to add over a two-year period. If the situation continues to develop at this rate, the province will add 64 units by 2031.
While another 155 units are said to be under construction, compared to the 8,000 advocates are talking about, that's far from “on track.” Increasing the supply of social housing will take time, but we can move faster.
Kirsten Bernas is the chair of the provincial Right to Housing Coalition.
