Edmonton's rental market squeezing out Indigenous mothers, advocate says
CBC
After months of homelessness, Edmonton mother-of-five Joanne Skani found a cute, affordable home in the southwest neighbourhood of Allendale.
But when the landlord discovered she received monthly government benefits, Joanne Skani says he peppered her with questions.
Skani's offer to send an email transfer on the spot was refused and the next day she was informed by text that the house had been rented.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, this is not happening to me again'," recalled Skani who is an off-reserve member of Cold Lake First Nations.
Skani and her children have been living in and out of shelters over the past four months. She and her youngest four children, all under the age of seven, are currently staying with a relative. There wasn't enough room for her 16-year-old daughter who is bunking with another family member.
The kids haven't gone to school yet this year because they don't have an address.
"My heart hurts for them," Skani said.
The tightening residential rental market is making it increasingly difficult for Indigenous mothers and other marginalized Edmontonians to rent a home.
A recent assessment by the city of Edmonton paints a grim picture:
One in four households pays more rent than they can afford or live in crowded or unsafe conditions. Of those renters, one third of those households are Indigenous. Half the households are female-led. Larger families have even less options.
Some 49,000 households are currently struggling to find affordable housing. That number is expected to jump to 60,000 households in 2026.
It's an issue social justice advocate Mark Cherrington is increasingly helping his clients navigate.
"When there's such a shortage of accommodations and rental spaces, landlords can cherry-pick," Cherrington said
"And so you get people that have FASD, you have children that are autistic, you have people with mental health barriers and significant medical issues — they're all being pushed aside for poster families and they're ending up on the street."
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