The Governance of Homeless Encampments in Canada

Alexandra Flynn and Estair Van Wagner
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Estair Van Wagner: University of Toronto

No 73, IMFG Papers from University of Toronto, Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance

Abstract: This paper examines municipal governance of homeless encampments amid rising levels of homelessness across Canada and a fragmented housing policy framework. We examine the international and domestic laws that apply in this area, as well as court decisions related to municipal bylaws and practices. We then map some municipal approaches across Canada, highlighting bylaw enforcement, temporary shelters, and emergent rights-based practices. Our analysis identifies persistent barriers, such as jurisdictional ambiguity, shelter inaccessibility, and misconceptions about the costs of rights-based models. We suggest that homeless encampments are a human rights crisis, and an opportunity for municipalities to catalyze change by aligning their approaches with human rights principles and investing in the conditions that make housing stability possible.

Keywords: homelessness; governance; intergovernmental; human rights; bylaws (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H70 I13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2025-11
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mfg:wpaper:73

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