The arrival of winter weather means Edmonton’s homeless population is looking for more places to shelter from the cold. To help with that, the city is activating its winter safety response plan.
Until March 31, 2025, regardless of the temperature outside, a free shuttle bus will take people needing a ride to homeless shelters. Outreach and support staff will also be on board the bus to assist people.
Unlike other years, the City of Edmonton said there are enough safe shelter spaces this year for every vulnerable Edmontonian.
“There were years where we weren’t sure whether or not the resources would be there, what the response would be,” said Homeward Trust CEO Susan McGee.
Winter comes, without fail, every year, so why does the response need to change annually?
“Every year something changes and this year is no different,” McGee said. “Every year we have seen capacities get impacted by how much space is available. Past responses have included things like very temporarily opening gymnasium floors, vacant buildings to having those winters where we’ve actually had less than 70 per cent occupancy in our shelters going back to like 2017, 2018.”
McGee said agencies work together to see where gaps are in the system.
A new challenge this year: more and more encampments popping up in different areas of the city, such as wooded areas in industrial areas on the southside and west end.
The city said responding to them is an ongoing endeavour.
“While born out of necessity and desperation, these encampments pose significant dangers that we cannot afford to ignore,” said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services acting chief David Lazenby.
Both Edmonton fire and police say encampments pose a risk to safety due to things like people lighting propane stoves or wood fires to stay warm – risking carbon monoxide poisoning or worse.
“The harsh realities of Edmonton’s winters amplify the risk inherent in these makeshift dwellings. Fires often sparks by attempt to stay warm, can spread rapidly through tents and tarpaulins, engulfing lives and property in that destructive path,” Lazenby said.
Last year, three people died in encampments due to fires. So far this year, he said firefighters have responded to 2,133 encampment-related incidents and as the temperature has dropped, the calls for help have increased.
“Some of these fires have resulted in individuals requiring medical assistance,” he said.
Outreach teams who encounter homeless people living in encampments are working to connect them to resources before dismantling tent sites. In some cases, the help is accepted — in others, is isn’t.
“It’s really a challenging issue,” McGee said of the people who refuse to go to a shelter or accept help to find housing.
The Alberta government has invested a total of $42.5 million in 2024 to support up to 1,800 shelter spaces in Edmonton – the most in the city’s history.
McGee also noted more shelters are creating 24/7 spaces – not just overnight or day use – which is something not always available in the past. There are also more private spaces.
“The privacy offered at many of the shelters is very, very different than it was even five years ago. Just in terms of beds rather than mats,” McGee shared as an example.
Edmonton has about 400 more shelter spaces than last year, McGee said, plus more options like Indigenous-specific programming.
“It’s made a big difference in what’s available in the community. And so the winter response will continue to identify where we need to augment and prepare for staffing shortages,” she said.
“It’s something that every winter we face as organizations run a very tight ship and sometimes skeleton staff because they’re working so many hours.”
Data from Homeward Trust’s annual homeless count is expected to be released next month and McGee said there are more “provisionally homeless” people in Edmonton — that is, people who don’t have a fixed address but also aren’t living on the streets, and instead may be couch-surfing or in a health-care or treatment facility.
Other aspects of the city’s winter safety response plan include the city’s community outreach transit team being be out connecting people to supports around bus and LRT stations.
While in past years LRT stations were opened up overnight during bitterly cold spells to get people out of the elements, the city said they will not be open as ad-hoc shelters this year as people are being directed to more appropriate spaces.
That said, during regular operating hours, common areas at libraries and recreation centres can be accessed to stay warm.
A wound care pop-up at Butler Park (157 Street and Stony Plain Road) beside the Jasper Place Transit Centre has been extended until March 30, 2025, and takes place every Tuesday, weather permitting.
When temperatures dip below – 20 C for three consecutive days, the city will activate its extreme weather response policy. That opens access to city spaces, additional shelter spaces, supports to connect to services and expanded shelter shuttle bus service.
Last winter, crisis diversion teams responded to more than 25,000 calls between November and April — up 30 per cent compared to the previous winter.