Residents willing to pay to address Saskatoon's homelessness crisis, survey suggests

Saskatoon residents see homelessness as a growing issue, and most are willing to pay more to address it, an annual city hall survey suggests.

The survey shows 35 per cent of respondents named homelessness the top issue, marking the third year in a row that the homeless crisis ranked first in the survey, but it’s up 12 percentage points from last year.

The top three issues remain the same as last year with all somewhat related to the crises of unhoused people and addiction. Crime/safety/policing was ranked as the top issue by 21 per cent of respondents, followed by housing at 11 per cent.

City hall contracted Forum Research Inc. to conduct the annual online survey of Saskatoon residents on various issues, values and perceptions.

Forum Research conducted the survey of 398 online panelists living in Saskatoon from July 11 to Sept. 2. Since the survey does not represent a random sampling of residents, it cannot be assigned a margin of error.

Other top issues included drug addiction/opioid crisis and property taxes/city spending, both at 10 per cent, and road maintenance and snow removal at nine per cent.

Nearly two-thirds said they would be willing to pay a monthly amount to address homelessness, with 31 per cent opting for $5 to $9 and 28 per cent choosing $15 per month or more.

Just shy of three-quarters want the city to provide greater support for people without shelter, but only two per cent see city hall as solely responsible for homelessness. 

Sixty-three per cent think city hall shares responsibility with the federal and provincial governments, while 22 per cent see homelessness as provincial jurisdiction. 

Nearly 80 per cent want Saskatoon city hall to direct more resources to address homelessness, and nearly three-quarters want the city to do more to increase housing supply.

Saskatoon city council will consider the survey results at its governance and priority committee meeting on Wednesday. The survey has been used in previous years to help council make budget decisions.

On Nov. 25, council will begin to finalize the city budget, which would impose property tax increases of 8.23 per cent next year and 5.95 per cent in 2027 if no changes are made.

The survey also suggests that 68 per cent of residents made “significant” lifestyle changes to reduce spending amid the housing crisis. About half considered moving away from Saskatoon to someplace less expensive. Half also considered moving somewhere cheaper in the city.

Eighty-two per cent assessed crime in Saskatoon as somewhat (51 per cent) or very (30 per cent) high.