Leading Sask. provincial parties share plans to address homelessness crisis

The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

The leaders of Saskatchewan’s two major political parties are sharing their plans to tackle the growing homelessness crisis.

In the province’s largest city, the number of people sleeping rough is on pace to more than double over last year, according to the Saskatoon Fire Department.

A recent report from the fire department shows 683 people were "inadequately housed" between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15 this year. Over all of 2023, they counted 366 people in the same category in Saskatoon.

In Regina, over 100 volunteers gathered to conduct a point-in-time count of the city’s unhoused population at the beginning of October. The last count, in 2021, identified 488 unhoused people in the Queen City. Last week, organizers told CTV News the number was likely much higher than what volunteers could count on any given night.

At a news conference in Kenaston on Friday, Saskatchewan Party leader Scott Moe said if re-elected, his party would focus on transitional housing to help get people into a more stable living situation.

“The goal isn't to fix the houses up and just have someone in them. There is a much broader conversation around how people will get into their own home and into a better opportunity in their community,” Moe said.

He said a Sask. Party government would also consider expanding the rent-to-own pilot program. The program was announced in mid-September. The pilot is set to take place in Regina’s North Central neighbourhood.