In the mid 1990s, the Alberta Government began spending less on housing compared to previous decades – a trend that wouldn’t reverse until 2008.

Homelessness in Calgary has a long and complex history, shaped by economic cycles, population growth, and public policy decisions.

In the early decades of the city’s growth, housing was largely driven by market forces. As the city expanded, so did disparities in access to affordable housing. The 1980s oil boom brought rapid urban development and rising housing prices, pushing low-income residents to the margins of the city, laying the groundwork for greater percentages of home ownership by higher income earners and less investment in rental housing development.

In 1995, the Alberta government devoted an amount worth 0.36% of its GDP to housing; just five years later, this amount had shrunk to 0.10%. The Alberta government’s annual spending on housing didn’t start to increase again until the late 2000s. This, alongside stricter rules for accessing social assistance programs and other other social and economic factors, resulted in housing and poverty challenges that would grow over time.

By the late 1990s, homelessness had become a visible social crisis, and the city began to recognize that emergency responses alone weren’t enough. In response to the steady increase in homelessness, advocacy groups, service providers, and researchers called for coordinated action that addressed the root causes of poverty and homelessness namely affordable housing shortages, economic & labour market challenges, and a lack of addiction and mental health supports.

In 2008, Calgary became one of the first Canadian cities to launch the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. This plan marked a turning point in public perception of homelessness, shifting the city’s approach from managing homelessness to ending it through long-term, systemic solutions. It emphasized the “Housing First” model, which prioritizes stable housing as the first step toward recovery and independence rather than a model which suggests individuals must “earn” housing through proving their capacity via income levels, mental health, and sobriety.

The challenges the city’s housing market faced are made more apparent when we compare the rental markets with another similar city in Alberta, Edmonton. Around 2009-2010, Calgary had 38 units available for rent per 1,000 people while Edmonton had over double the amount at 86 units per 1,000 people. While neither city has been able to meet the demands of their growing populations, Calgary has had a much tougher time maintaining rental supply in comparison and faces additional challenges because of a sharper increase in population growth than Edmonton (Calgary’s metro-area population grew by nearly 96,000 people last year — a six per cent increase in the span of just 12 months – Edmonton, meanwhile, added more than 63,000 people, marking a 4.2 per cent increase).

 Another relevant factor is how the labour market affects Calgary. The data supports that a strong labour market in Calgary actually puts more pressure on emergency shelters and low-income services. While you would think that a stronger job market means that more people are able to afford housing, the reality is the opposite for Calgary. In Calgary, a strong labour market attracts many in-migrants looking for work, which Calgary struggles to absorb into it’s existing housing stock. In contrast, Edmonton does not attract as many in-migrants, and their housing market has proven to be effective in maintaining housing stock- meaning that Edmonton’s housing market is better able to absorb in-migrants without a requisite increase in emergency shelter stays.

Since the 10-year plan to end homelessness in 2008, the city has made progress in certain areas. Chronic homelessness, for example, where an individual experiences homelessness for a continuous period of time longer than 1 year, has decreased, and the city saw successful investment in non-market supportive housing . Alpha House alone added 4 supportive housing buildings to supply between 2012 and 2016.

In 2019, the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta signed a 10-year agreement to invest $678 million to protect, renew, and expand social and community housing in Alberta. In addition to this funding, Alberta’s Stronger Foundations Strategy increases the province’s capacity by supporting an additional 25,000 households through 13,000 new housing units, and 12,000 more rent supplements, increasing the total number of households served to 82,000- a more than 40% increase.

Calgary’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count reports 3,576 unhoused individuals in 2012, and 3,121 unhoused individuals in 2024. While the reduction in homelessness seems small on first glance, Calgary’s population grew significantly in that same timeframe. For a more accurate measure, we can use the rate of homelessness per 1000 Calgarians, which shows a rate of 3.33 in 2008 and 2.00 in 2024- a 40% decrease when we account for population growth.

But for all the progress we have seen between 2008 and 2019, we still have to ask whether the government’s housing investments are meeting the needs of our growing population? Over the last two years, Calgary has lost an estimated 450 supportive and subsidized housing units due to discontinued funding- that’s at least 450 individuals abruptly left without housing options.

Calgary’s non-market sector is experiencing a significant supply deficit. Since 2011, the average number of new affordable housing units per year is 308. To keep up with demand, that number needs to be closer to 2,000-2,500 new units per year. In Alpha House’s experience, roughly 60% of the homeless population would require some type of supportive housing intervention, even if only temporarily, to move them toward stable housing long-term. Given that Calgary’s non-market housing is failing to meet demand, we can extrapolate that supportive housing is even further behind in meeting the growing demands of the sector.

A study published on the homeless hub on the flow of shelters in Calgary showcases that during 2014 to 2019 shelters were used by 36,855 individuals. It showed that shelter beds were filled each month by people who are newly admitted to the shelter system. For Calgary’s emergency shelter system overall, the value is 0.27, meaning that 27% of shelter beds are vacated and then filled each month by individuals who are completely new to the system. This rate varies across shelters, reaching a high of 0.73 at Alpha House and a low of 0.17 at the DI, highlighting how some facilities experience a much higher turnover of new clients compared to others. For a more recent figure: in 2025, Alpha House has seen 2,697 new clients, with only 2,049 returning clients, meaning that almost 60% of our clients this year had never accessed our Shelter before. These figures alone demonstrate the impact of poverty, addiction, and instability on the revolving door of homelessness. The fact that such a high number of first-time shelter users enter the homeless sector each month is proof that a) people do exit homelessness and find housing options but b) prevention and early intervention are essential in the fight to end homelessness so we can end the constant cycle. Diversion programs, financial assistance, and access to medical and mental health services are some examples of interventions that can prevent someone from falling into homelessness.

Low rental stock and rising housing costs, economic and labour market instability, and insufficient social supports continue to place vulnerable Calgarians at risk. In 2025, Calgary’s shelters have operated at 89% utilization on average, while thousands sit on wait lists for supportive housing units. We believe it’s critical to our province’s stability to see more long-term funding commitments for low-income and supportive housing units reflected in the 2026 budget.

Calgary’s experience shows that homelessness is not just a housing issue it’s a policy issue. We do have the power to change these trends for the better. Policy reflects the intersection of economic conditions, public investment, and community response. The city’s journey demonstrates that with sustained collaboration and evidence-based policy, meaningful progress is possible, even if the work is far from over.

Investment in the future takes meaningful planning and time. If we want to create better conditions for our future, we have to start making those investments now.

 

 

Links

https://homelesshub.ca/blog/2017/public-policy-and-homelessness-case-calgary/

https://www.calgary.ca/communities/housing-in-calgary/affordable-housing-about.html

https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/homelessness-alberta_0.pdf

https://www.alberta.ca/shelter-usage-in-alberta#jumplinks-0

https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=29002A5A902D7-0479-ACFD-143CD6847D8BF4A0

https://homelesshub.ca/blog/2017/public-policy-and-homelessness-case-calgary/