SaskatchewanA number of Regina organizations and community members gathered at the Wascana Street Complex Thursday to speak out about the number of social housing units sitting vacant as temperatures drop.Province says 206 units were left vacant due to building renovationsAliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News · Posted: Dec 11, 2025 9:06 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.A number of Regina organizations and community members gathered Thursday at the Wascana Street Complex to speak out about the number of vacant social housing units as colder temperatures set in. (Kirk Fraser/CBC)Mandla Mthembu arrived at a social housing complex in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood to find the unit surrounded by a metal fence and boarded-up windows. He says it’s a sight he is seeing more often — social housing units sitting empty for long periods of time before being torn down, because they have not been maintained or repaired. While these units sit vacant, hundreds of unhoused people are left to live on the streets and endure cold temperatures because of how hard it has become to access affordable housing in Saskatchewan, according to Mthembu, a community activist.”It’s just further evidence of this province looking at housing as an afterthought,” he said.”They don’t care if … [homeless people] live or die, they don’t care if they have what they need, and they don’t care about their human rights.”Mthembu is not the only one speaking out about the issue. A number of Regina organizations and community members joined Mthembu at the Wascana Street Complex Thursday to speak out and demand more commitment to social housing from the province.Peter Gilmer, an advocate with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry, said the province has had far too many vacant social housing units for far too long. He pointed out that when so many people desperately need housing, the province needs to start using the resources already available. “Lives are at risk as we speak,” he said.Gilmer added that the province also has an obligation to ensure social housing units are maintained to ensure they’re available.In order to start easing the housing crisis, the province needs to provide more social housing units with rent caps, rent geared to income, or rent based on the average income in Saskatchewan. “Housing is a human right,” said Gilmer. “It’s an absolutely basic human need.”Making progress: provinceThe Saskatchewan Party government said it is continuing to make progress in reducing the number of vacant social housing units in Regina. As of Nov. 15, the overall vacancy rate for social housing units in Regina was just over 17 per cent, a Social Services Ministry spokesperson said in an email. That’s down from 23 per cent in 2021, according to the spokesperson.The rates include units that are vacant for major repairs to improve the overall condition of the unit, according to the government. In Regina, 206 units were intentionally vacant because the buildings are undergoing major renovations, the statement said.That includes Wascana Street Complex, where part of the property was demolished after fire damage in 2024, according to the spokesperson.”Further inspection has determined the remaining 15 units are unsafe,” they said, adding the province will “explore options to revitalize the site.”Next year’s budget includes $88.4 million to ensure provincially owned rent-ready units are available across Saskatchewan, the Social Services email said.That includes $9.2 million in new funding to start multi-year repair and renovation projects for nearly 285 housing units, 154 of which are in Regina. It also includes another $1.5 million for planning for future repair and renovation projects for 165 housing units in Regina, according to the provincial spokesperson.ABOUT THE AUTHORAliyah Marko-Omene is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. She has previously worked for CBC and Toronto Star in Toronto. You can reach her at aliyah.marko@cbc.ca.
Lives are at risk,’ advocate says as Sask. social housing units sit empty
