Statistics Canada Reports II

[WayneShuster]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Everywhere is dealing with the same problems, I was actually impressed how few meth heads and fentanyl zombies I just saw in my recent trip to Toronto and Montreal. There were some sketchy people, but nothing like I see in Calgary. The point I was making wasn't in relation to the drug crisis in Winnipeg, I just meant the city in general. Winnipeg seems to be a city looking to reinvent itself, but hasn't found a way to do that for a long time. Do you have some statistics to back up your claim that other places are shipping people to Winnipeg? cause I definitely don't buy that. The problem is bad everywhere in Western Canada as you alluded to. I definitely buy the argument that there is a disproportionate amount of people from up north though, Edmonton has the same problem, so does Prince George and a lot of cities on what we can call the northern frontier.

You are free to believe whatever you want, but I trust my sources. This is occurring based on soft government policies and lack of enforcement. It's easier to get welfare benefits in Manitoba than in most other provinces apparently. The amount of people on welfare living in Manitoba from out of province is an issue. They come for the welfare, plain and simple. Totally mind boggling. Again, the system is broken and needs fixing asap.

[Vantage]

Guys, I was just making a joke. How quickly drama from 2 pages back gets forgotten. I hope Edmonton's downtown finds a way to thrive.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by WayneShuster

You are free to believe whatever you want, but I trust my sources. This is occurring based on soft government policies and lack of enforcement. It's easier to get welfare benefits in Manitoba than in most other provinces apparently. The amount of people on welfare living in Manitoba from out of province is an issue. They come for the welfare, plain and simple. Totally mind boggling. Again, the system is broken and needs fixing asap.

According to the detailed survey of the homeless in Winnipeg less than two years ago, half had always lived in Winnipeg, and a quarter somewhere else in Manitoba.

There's a myth that major cities seeing a growing number of homeless people because they've mostly been shipped in from somewhere else. Surveys of the homeless generally don't find that to be true for the majority of the homeless. In Vancouver, for example, the 2025 survey found "75% of people were in the community they reside when their most recent experience of homelessness started". Similarly, the Edmonton survey in 2024 found "a significant majority of respondents (81.4%) reported living in Edmonton for more than three years, indicating long-term connection to Edmonton among people experiencing homelessness".

[WayneShuster]

Originally Posted by Changing City

According to the detailed survey of the homeless in Winnipeg less than two years ago, half had always lived in Winnipeg, and a quarter somewhere else in Manitoba.

There's a myth that major cities seeing a growing number of homeless people because they've mostly been shipped in from somewhere else. Surveys of the homeless generally don't find that to be true for the majority of the homeless. In Vancouver, for example, the 2025 survey found "75% of people were in the community they reside when their most recent experience of homelessness started". Similarly, the Edmonton survey in 2024 found "a significant majority of respondents (81.4%) reported living in Edmonton for more than three years, indicating long-term connection to Edmonton among people experiencing homelessness".

The thing is, people taking these surveys don't always want to reveal their true origins. It's pretty easy to make up an identity when homeless because no one is going to challenge you and make you feel uncomfortable. I also am not meaning to imply that any of them are lacking personal connections in Manitoba, many of them are likely connected with Manitoba residents in some form or another.

Again, there are investigators actually undertaking investigations into welfare beneficiaries, including those classified as homeless, and discover all sorts of things about people. Many of then do not originate from Manitoba. Again, believe what you want to believe. I choose to believe and trust those professionals who work in this area daily and gather the information first hand.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Vantage

Guys, I was just making a joke. How quickly drama from 2 pages back gets forgotten. I hope Edmonton's downtown finds a way to thrive.

To be expected, I guess. Jokes on this site take on a long life in the serious discussion.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Changing City

There's a myth that major cities seeing a growing number of homeless people because they've mostly been shipped in from somewhere else. Surveys of the homeless generally don't find that to be true for the majority of the homeless. In Vancouver, for example, the 2025 survey found "75% of people were in the community they reside when their most recent experience of homelessness started". Similarly, the Edmonton survey in 2024 found "a significant majority of respondents (81.4%) reported living in Edmonton for more than three years, indicating long-term connection to Edmonton among people experiencing homelessness".

That seems to mesh with the stories when the news digs into the issues.

I have to wonder how many of the homeless and mentally ill come from the "upscale" parts of each city? Yet the services for them always seem to be central/downtown. In Hamilton, gods forbid that a large homeless centre be located in Ancaster.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by WayneShuster

Nah, it's just Osborne Village, or colloquially The Village

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

In Hamilton, gods forbid that a large homeless centre be located in Ancaster.

<Clutches pearls>

Indeed!

[kwoldtimer]

Statistics Canada reports zero growth in first quarter GDP, putting Canada in a "recession" (previous quarter saw 0.2% decline). Some, however, will be pleased to learn that GDP per capita increased ...

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Statistics Canada reports zero growth in first quarter GDP, putting Canada in a "recession" (previous quarter saw 0.2% decline). Some, however, will be pleased to learn that GDP per capita increased ...

That last one is all that really matters.. The last 3 years we had a growing economy but the economic activity per actual person in this country declined.. now all the TFWs are leaving and pulling their consumption with them, at the same time the manufacturing economy is going through a tariff related shock and the Feds are cutting spending massively.. and suddenly GDP per capita is growing again? That means the economic pie for every person is growing.

[Coldrsx]

[Calgarian]

Originally Posted by WayneShuster

You are free to believe whatever you want, but I trust my sources. This is occurring based on soft government policies and lack of enforcement. It's easier to get welfare benefits in Manitoba than in most other provinces apparently. The amount of people on welfare living in Manitoba from out of province is an issue. They come for the welfare, plain and simple. Totally mind boggling. Again, the system is broken and needs fixing asap.

I could see the argument of homeless moving to BC, and that's because of the milder weather. I'd be amazed if someone would rather sleep on the streets of Winnipeg in February because of easier access to social services. I'm sure rural Manitobans flock to the city for the social services, likely easier access than say, Flin Flon.

[MonkeyRonin]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

I could see the argument of homeless moving to BC, and that's because of the milder weather. I'd be amazed if someone would rather sleep on the streets of Winnipeg in February because of easier access to social services. I'm sure rural Manitobans flock to the city for the social services, likely easier access than say, Flin Flon.

There's an old trope of homeless people moving to BC for the weather, but in reality something like 75% of the homeless in Vancouver are born in BC (ie. even more likely than the general population to be from here).

Homeless people generally aren't making decisions of where to move based on what they think would be the best weather to be homeless in, unless they're specifically pursuing it as some sort of lifestyle (eg. the crust punk lifestyle of the west coast). Otherwise, most people just stay in the place that they became homeless in, because they don't have the means to leave and it's where they have an existing community anyway; and also because they're usually not intending to stay homeless.

[Vantage]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

There's an old trope of homeless people moving to BC for the weather, but in reality something like 75% of the homeless in Vancouver are born in BC (ie. even more likely than the general population to be from here).

Homeless people generally aren't making decisions of where to move based on what they think would be the best weather to be homeless in, unless they're specifically pursuing it as some sort of lifestyle (eg. the crust punk lifestyle of the west coast). Otherwise, most people just stay in the place that they became homeless in, because they don't have the means to leave and it's where they have an existing community anyway; and also because they're usually not intending to stay homeless.

Not much of a trope. Cities in Saskatchewan would provide free bus tickets to Vancouver to homeless people.

[theman23]

Originally Posted by Vantage

Not much of a trope. Cities in Saskatchewan would provide free bus tickets to Vancouver to homeless people.

You’re confusing a discretionary decision by a social worker with a city policy. There have absolutely been cases going the other way too.

[someone123]

Aside from not being backed up by data, I always disliked how the story about homeless in Vancouver coming from elsewhere was used as an excuse for inaction. The presence of homelessness, drug addiction, and street disorder is fixable with policy choices on housing, mental health, drugs, policing, and indigenous-specific issues like urban support and improving conditions/opportunities on reserves.

Since covid we've seen how policy choices made a difference. In some ways, like tents in parks, Vancouver was much worse in 2022 or so than it is in 2026.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by someone123

Aside from not being backed up by data, I always disliked how the story about homeless in Vancouver coming from elsewhere was used as an excuse for inaction. The presence of homelessness, drug addiction, and street disorder is fixable with policy choices on housing, mental health, drugs, policing, and indigenous-specific issues like urban support and improving conditions/opportunities on reserves.

Since covid we've seen how policy choices made a difference. In some ways, like tents in parks, Vancouver was much worse in 2022 or so than it is in 2026.

In terms of tents in parks, you're right, there are almost none in 2026 compared to the encampments that developed during the early 2020s. The City of Vancouver and the Parks Board have taken a much more active role in enforcing bylaws that allow overnight camping in parks (while there's still inadequate shelter bed provision), but doesn't allow any structure to remain during the day. There are also daily sweeps of East Hastings Street to remove any and all belongings of anyone with any sort of camping structure - although the overall impact is minimal as people now shelter under more makeshift tarps if it rains, rather than having a tent, and when it's not raining just sprawl over the sidewalk.

Overall street unsheltered homeless in the city have increased from 547 in 2020, to 605 in 2023, and 763 in the 2025 point-in-time count. Today the unsheltered homeless have scattered throughout the city into locations where they don't get their belongings thrown in a City garbage truck, with a police escort to ensure the peace is kept. Somebody spent last night camping on the closed, (so strangely quiet), Pacific Boulevard, next to the FIFA fan-zone. They'll probably have to find another spot soon.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by theman23

You’re confusing a discretionary decision by a social worker with a city policy. There have absolutely been cases going the other way too.

By the way some make Vancouver sound it should have 90% of all of the homeless population in Canada

The total homeless population in Canada is estimated to range from 150,000 to 300,000 individuals, with about 60,000 experiencing homelessness on any given night.

This is even sadder

Approximately 35,000 to 40,000 youth between the ages of 13-24 experience homelessness each year in Canada, with around 6,000 to 7,000 homeless on any given night.

[Calgarian]

Didn't Calgary ship a couple busloads of homeless people to BC for the 88 Olympics?

I do see a lot of people hitchhiking west in the summer, can't say I see as much going east. Anyway, the vast majority of homeless or addicted people in a city are from that city. No question.

[MolsonExport]

It's a pretty assholish move for a city administration to ship homeless people (and in the Excited States, illegal aliens) from one city to another.

Has anyone figured out a solution to the rising number of homeless individuals and especially, junkies? I doubt it, since they seem to be everywhere: in big cities and small towns, and across all the countries that I have visited, even Scandinavian cities.

[Calgarian]

Ralph Klein was an asshole...