SaskatoonThe latest point-in-time count in Saskatoon took place on Oct. 16 and tallied 1,931 people experiencing homelessness. That’s roughly 30 per cent more than one year ago, when a one-day count found 1,499 people.Point-in-time count indentifies 1,931 people experiencing homelessnessHannah Spray · CBC News · Posted: Nov 25, 2025 11:45 AM EST | Last Updated: 8 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.An encampment is shown last year on 20th Street in Saskatoon. This year’s point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness identified 1,931 people. (Chanss Langaden/CBC)Poverty levels are a key factor driving a trend of increasing homelessness in Saskatoon, according to people working on the issue.The latest point-in-time homelessness count, conducted by the City of Saskatoon in partnership with the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership, took place on Oct. 16 and tallied 1,931 individuals experiencing homelessness.That’s up roughly 30 per cent from one year ago, when the one-day count found 1,499 people. In 2022, the count identified 550 people.”It’s a scary situation that these numbers are increasing,” Saskatoon Tribal Council Tribal Chief Mark Arcand told reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve all got to be concerned as a community that we have to address this immediately.”Detailed demographics on this year’s count aren’t available yet (a full report is expected early in the new year), but last year, more than 80 per cent of individuals in the count identified as Indigenous.The cost of living is an issue that many people on fixed incomes are struggling with, Arcand said.”We are seeing people that are not addicted, that don’t have mental health and addictions issues. However, they can’t afford rent. They can’t afford food, so they become homeless at an elderly age, and it’s very problematic.”Saskatoon Tribal Council Tribal Chief Mark Arcand says the increasing number of homeless people in the city is a ‘scary situation.’ (Phil Tank/CBC)Lesley Anderson, director of planning and development for the City of Saskatoon, also identified poverty as a key issue.”Income continues to be the highest, highest indicator of challenge where people don’t have income to support a place to live,” she said.The point-in-time count is intended to provide a “snapshot” of the minimum number of individuals who are homeless on one day in the city. A news release from the city on Tuesday included details on where the 1,931 people identified were staying at that point:Unsheltered: 725.Encampments: 151.Emergency shelters: 327.Transitional homes: 444.Systems (hospitals, jails): 47.Hidden homelessness (couch surfers, short-term rentals): 237.Anderson noted that on the date of the count, all of the emergency shelters in the city were at full capacity.Numbers ‘not surprising’The United Way works with many agencies in Saskatoon that provide services to people experiencing homelessness. Based on the increased demand for services, this year’s count is “not surprising,” said Gary Beaudin, the Saskatoon-area director of community impact and strategic partnerships for United Way.He also talked about the importance of focusing on jobs and education rates in preventing the poverty that can lead to homelessness.”Poverty is a huge issue,” Beaudin said. “So that’s something that by focusing on education and employment, you’re sort of mitigating the issues related to poverty.”Improving access to mental health and addictions programming is also important, he said.But all of the issues need a provincial focus or policy framework, if not a national one, as they’re being felt across the country, Beaudin said.In a recent annual city survey, homelessness ranked first among the issues Saskatoon residents said they are concerned about.Last month, a city council committee voted to explore the concept of a “centralized navigation hub” for services for homeless people.A temporary drop-in warming centre that began operating at the former Saskatchewan Transportation Company bus depot downtown earlier this month is already expanding its hours, Arcand said.It was running 12 hours a day but that’s changing this week to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.ABOUT THE AUTHORHannah Spray is a reporter and editor for CBC Saskatoon. She began her journalism career in newspapers, first in her hometown of Meadow Lake, Sask., moving on to Fort St. John, B.C., and then to the Saskatoon StarPhoenix.
Cost of living key factor driving up homelessness numbers, Saskatoon advocates say
