Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness-Federal Budget 2024

As the wave of new homelessness accelerates across Canada, the 2024 federal budget must address the immediate challenges faced by Canadians experiencing homelessness and those at risk of losing their homes, while building the long-term solutions that fix the housing and affordability crises driving this intolerable suffering.

Homelessness continues to rise across Canada, driven by inflation and rising housing costs. An estimated 265,000 to 300,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year. That's the equivalent of all of Saskatoon or Gatineau experiencing homelessness each year.

The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness is calling on the federal government to make the upcoming budget a Housing Budget, by urgently developing a real strategy to end homelessness, and fixing the housing crisis.

In a sample of nine communities that collect person-specific data on homelessness each month, homelessness has increased by 52% on average from before the pandemic to December 2023. While some of these communities have managed to reduce homelessness, some have seen growth of 131%.

Without immediate action, homelessness will only continue to grow.

The federal government - and all political parties - are talking a big game on housing. This federal budget is the opportunity to turn the situation around and the last meaningful opportunity where policy can be implemented before the next federal election.

For more information on Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, or to take action, visit their website here.