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A majority of Canadians say they support communities declaring states of emergency in order to clear homeless encampments in parks and public spaces, according to a new poll.
National Post reports that thirty-two per cent of Canadians said they supported the tactic and and 25 per cent said they somewhat supported it. The Nanos poll found that three out of 10 Canadians opposed or somewhat opposed using a state of emergency to clear homeless encampments. Six per cent said they were unsure.
Those living in BC were most likely to be in support of removing the encampments, at just over 68 per cent. Residents of the Prairie provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) were a close second, at just over 61 per cent. Residents of Ontario and Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) were roughly the same, at nearly 57 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, people living in Quebec were least likely to support the use of a state of emergency to clear homelessness encampments, at around 48 per cent.
So far, states of emergency have been declared in Barrie, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and the Niagara Region all in Ontario. There have been arrests, fires, attacks and even deaths at encampments at encampments across the country. Sites have popped up in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and red Deer.
Earlier this month, a child was assaulted while playing next to a park where an encampment was set up in Winnipeg, according to the city. Last week, in Toronto, an encampment in the Kessington Market area was cleared, due to concerns about it being a fire hazard, according to the Canadian Press.
In 2022, Vancouver police investigated multiple stabbings at an encampment in Crab Park. In 2024, police said a man fatally stabbed two people at an encampment in Kingston. In 2024, two Toronto women told National Post they had been assaulted while walking near an encampment at Clarence Square.
Toronto Fire Services said a man was found dead in June after a fire at a North York encampment.
Encampments are informal shelters and tents set up by people who otherwise do not have access to housing, according to advocacy group, National Right to Housing Network.
