Homelessness is getting worse, but advocates say it's all but forgotten in this election

Efforts are underway to help unhoused people vote in the upcoming federal election — a race advocates say is letting the issue of homelessness take a back seat to the political turmoil coming from south of the border.

The Canadian Press spoke with shelter and frontline workers across the country who say homelessness is getting worse and their capacities are being stretched to record levels. Unhoused people are eager to vote but few candidates are speaking to them or their needs, advocates say.

"Decisions made by all the tiers of government affect homeless people at a disproportionate rate," said Susan Smith, chair of the lived experience council with End Homelessness St. John's, N.L. "These issues are important and part of what [candidates] should speak out about and stand for."

Little more than a year ago, homelessness was a prominent political issue as the federal housing advocate released a sweeping report on the stubborn growth of encampments and called for a national strategy to solve the problem. But U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war and calls to annex Canada have shifted focus away from the homelessness crisis.

Darren Nodrick, director of development at the Siloam Mission in Winnipeg, said his 143-bed shelter has been full every night for almost two years, "which is unprecedented."

Siloam staff are setting up a polling station in the shelter and helping residents prepare to vote. So far, just one local candidate — Liberal Rahul Walia — has contacted the shelter to ask to meet its clients, Nodrick said, adding he wishes more candidates would make that effort.

"It's crucial and it's important and it's something that needs to stay top of mind," he said.

At the Salvation Army's Crossroads Residential Services in Saskatoon, executive director Gordon Taylor said shelter clients would like to speak with local election candidates.

"Something we hear quite often from clients is that they feel like they don't have a voice," Taylor said.

When asked if Liberal Leader Mark Carney intends to visit people in shelters or encampments, a party spokesperson said she couldn't disclose his campaign stops ahead of time. She pointed to Carney's housing announcement last month, which included $6 billion for "deeply affordable," supportive and Indigenous housing and shelters.

The NDP said some local candidates have been talking to homeless voters but the party did not say if leader Jagmeet Singh will do the same. The Conservatives did not respond to questions about whether leader Pierre Poilievre would visit homeless shelters or encampments.

Jim Gurnett of the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness has posted a picture to social media from the front lines of the city's growing homelessness crisis on every day of the federal campaign. The photos of brightly coloured tarps tied into haphazard shelters, or tents lined up in encampments, are reminders "of the misery caused when governments ignore people's human right to housing," his posts say.

"I'm really frustrated," Gurnett said in a recent interview. "I understand that the issues with the tariffs and those things are pushing other stuff aside. But people have got to understand that if everybody doesn't have adequate housing, the social and economic costs of that are gigantic."

A report last week from the Ottawa Mission said the city's homeless population has grown to about 3,000 people. Approximately 500 of them are living on the streets, some within sight of Parliament Hill. Mission spokesperson Aileen Leo said they released the report during the election campaign to draw parties' attention to the situation.

"There has been a shocking rise in homelessness, and there's also been a shocking rise in unsheltered homelessness, which is very troubling, very disturbing," Leo said in an interview. "And we need a sustained and appropriate government response."

Voting is difficult for unhoused people, who are often focused on basic survival and don't have identification or permanent addresses, she said. But many are quite determined to cast a ballot and clients at the mission's shelter can use its address to do so, she added.

She encouraged local candidates to speak to voters in shelters and encampments, as long as they get permission and respect residents' rights.

"I think it would be very instructive for anyone running for public office to see what living in an encampment is like," she said.

Last week in Newfoundland, End Homelessness St. John's hosted an outreach event at its transitional home to help people get identification and other documents they need to vote or file taxes. 

Staff have been helping people file taxes for months, said executive director Doug Pawson, adding that T4 slips can be used as identification to vote.

Pawson and his staff will also offer rides to Elections Canada offices for early voting, and there will be a designated polling station on the April 28 election day for transitional home residents, he said.

And though no local candidates have approached End Homelessness St. John's to speak to its clients, the group will co-host a candidates' forum on housing and homelessness next week.

The idea came from its advisory council of people who have experienced homelessness, which is led by Smith. 

"We want all of the folks running in this election to understand that the needs of people who are experiencing issues around housing are important," Smith said.

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