Week in Review: April 3, 2026

Here’s a roundup of housing news and issues that we noticed this week:

From ECOHH’s social media

• Working and Homeless: The Invisible Population Growing Every Year

• "For our law has in it a turn of humour or touch of fancy which Nero or Herod never happened to think of: that of actually punishing homeless people for not sleeping at home." (G.K. Chesterton)

• You’re Invited: Heart of the City Awards Brunch, presented by Chandos Construction and hosted by NiGiNan Housing Ventures.

• Strathcona County Housing Rights Action Group is an ECOHH member and they now have their own Facebook presence.

• Alberta government unhappy with federal government re funds for housing

• In BC, housing is a human right, supported by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the right to a full range of inclusive housing options throughout their lives. This isn’t optional. It’s a moral and legal responsibility to build communities where everyone can fully participate and live with security and dignity.

•  Study finds housing insecurity prevalent among older Albertan adults, with home ownership no longer an indicator of financial security

• ECOHH's Manitoba colleague organization has issued a critique of the recent Manitoba provincial budget:

  • Manitoba Budget 2026 Falls Short on Housing

  • The Manitoba Government released Budget 2026 on March 24. While the NDP government made important progress on housing and homelessness in its first two budgets, this year required bolder action to meet the scale of the crisis. 

  • Instead, Budget 2026 slows that progress, leaving Manitoba further behind. Because the government has repeatedly underfunded housing year after year, future budgets will now need to be even larger to catch up to the level of housing Manitobans need. Here’s how the budget measures up against the three priorities we called for:

  • Budget 2026 responded with: 215 new housing units, only a portion of which will be social housing. 

  • What this means: In 2024 we identified the need for 1,000 new social housing units annually over 10 years. The government committed to 350 units in Budget 2024 and 670 in 2025. With just 215 units in Budget 2026, progress has stalled. Over three years, this brings the total to just 1,235 units - at least 1,765 units short of what’s needed to stay on track.

  • Budget 2026 responded with: $75M to modernize and improve existing social housing.

  • What this means: In 2024 we identified the need for $150M in annual investments over 10 years to bring existing social housing units up to standard and preserve supply. After investments of $67.8M in Budget 2024 and $71M in 2025, this year’s small increase brings the three-year total to $213.8M - that is $236.2M behind where we need to be.

  • Budget 2026 responded with: An additional $10M investment in wraparound supports for tenants exiting homelessness. 

  • What this means: The increased investment in Budget 2026 is critical to achieving long-term tenancies, ensuring the safety of all tenants, and preventing returns to homelessness. But Manitoba continues to face a shortage of healthcare professionals and housing support workers available to all tenants who need them, alongside high turnover driven by low wages and limited benefits. Without sustained investment in people, housing alone cannot succeed.

Relevant housing news 

• Vancouver Keeps New Supportive Housing on Pause

• Victoria man evicted over $74.52 in missed rent-increase payments

• IRC pauses home repair program due to request backlog

• How Quebec’s Bill 20 could impact access to affordable housing, including co-ops

• Safe housing scarce for inmates released from correctional facilities, advocates say

• Alberta gets a failing grade on dealing with the homeless from Can Man Dan

• Hamilton moves to strengthen renoviction bylaw with 1 year of data, renter feedback

• Regina seniors fear losing their homes amid housing changes

• UCP pushes back against federal housing agreements after Ottawa pulls plug on funding for Red Deer

• Two affordable housing programs to receive cuts

• Warming centres close for the season in Waterloo region as demand at shelters surges

• Quebec coroner orders public inquiry into deaths of homeless people in Montreal

• Edmonton man creates an online directory for crisis support

• NWT’s public housing smoking ban reaches final stage

• The future of a consumption site in Kingston

• Micro-modular housing resident speaks out

• City councillors fear 'devil in the details' in federal-provincial housing fund

• Dene Nation says federal money for housing, infrastructure should go directly to communities

• A family lost their home in a fire. Because of their dog, they can't live in emergency housing

• The war in Iran is affecting the B.C. housing market. Here's how

• Ark Aid, other organizations, sound alarm bells after losing millions in federal funds

• Toronto Board of Health extends pilot program helping unhoused people in downtown core

• ‘Unhoused & Unacceptable’: New Moncton homelessness report calls for 26 actions

• Housing lawyer Julien Delangie

• Formerly homeless people, including veterans, could be evicted if Trump administration plan is implemented

• Ottawa and GNWT pledge funds for 40 housing units in Inuvik

As always, we recommend checking out these sources for additional information on housing and homelessness

• Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) 

• Canadian Centre for Housing Rights

• Canadian Housing & Renewal Association (CHRA) 

• Federal Housing Advocate

• Homeless Hub (Canadian Observatory on Homelessness) 

• Homeward Trust 

• Housing Complex  

• Make the Shift   

• National Right to Housing Network (NRHN)  

• Social Housing & Human Rights (SHHR) 

• Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network