evictions driving metro vancouver homelessness: report
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ginna berg of the indigenous homelessness steering committee of greater vancouver speaks at a news conference announcing the final report of the 2025 point-in-time homeless count in greater vancouver.
nathan griffiths
evictions were the cause of homelessness for nearly half of respondents in a 2025 homeless count, according to newly released data on historical and demographic trends in metro vancouver’s homeless population.
the number of homeless people in metro has increased by 141 per cent since 2005 — far outpacing population growth. statistics canada estimates that metro’s population grew by 44 per cent in that time.
“things are not getting better. since 2023 there has been a 30 per cent increase in indigenous unhoused. this can’t continue. this is something we cannot accept,” ginna berg, executive director of the fraser river indigenous society, told a news conference announcing the release of the full report.
here are some of the key takeaways from the report, published by the lu’ma native housing society:
evictions are most common cause of homelessness
forty-two per cent of respondents said their current homelessness was because of eviction.
two-in-five of those respondents said they were evicted because they couldn’t earn enough money to pay rent, an issue that is particularly acute among seniors.
“for the seniors, a lot of it was economic eviction,” said lorraine copas, chairwoman of the greater metro vancouver community advisory board.
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thirty-two per cent cited conflict with a landlord, spouse or partner. another 20 per cent reported substance use as the cause of their eviction.
lorraine copas, chair of the greater metro vancouver community advisory board for reaching home, speaks at a press conference announcing the final report of the 2025 point-in-time homeless count in greater vancouver.
nathan griffiths
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indigenous people are overrepresented among homeless population
indigenous people were vastly overrepresented among the respondents. thirty-four per cent of respondents identified as indigenous despite making up only 2.1 per cent of metro’s population.
indigenous homelessness also increased at a much faster rate than non-indigenous homelessness. indigenous homelessness increased by 30 per cent since 2023, compared with an 8.5 per cent overall increase.
two-thirds of indigenous respondents reported that either they, a parent or a grandparent attended a residential school, highlighting the lasting, intergenerational impact of the residential school system, the report notes.
“the report tells us that the realities of being unhoused are directly tied to the ongoing legacy of colonialism,” berg said.
unsheltered homelessness jumped since covid-19
the number of people who reported being unsheltered in the 2025 count was 1,893, nearly double the number in 2020. unsheltered homelessness is defined as sleeping outside or in a public place.
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indigenous people and people with substance-use disorders were more likely to be unsheltered, suggesting that shelters could be seen as unsafe or unwelcoming for some people, the report noted.
“health is a factor. mental health is a factor. substance use is a factor. but it’s all of these factors coming together that create the pathway that push the people into homelessness,” copas said.
nearly one-quarter of metro’s homeless population are seniors
twenty-two per cent of respondents in the survey were 55 or older. nearly half of them were homeless for the first time.
“previously, seniors would be eligible for social housing at that age and would likely have a place over their head. but as canada pulled back on housing supply programs, you start to see now more and more seniors who just simply can’t make it,” copas said.
“our housing system is no longer providing housing that meets the needs of the people who live in our communities.”
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