metro vancouver homelessness has more than doubled in 20 years: survey count
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a handout photograph of volunteers working during the 2023 homeless count in vancouver.
bcnpha/ john lehmann
/
john lehmann
homelessness in metro vancouver has more than doubled in the past 20 years, according to the latest count.
on march 11 there were at least 5,200 people in metro who had nowhere to live, according to the lu’ma native housing society, which has overseen the semi-annual homeless count since 2020. before that, metro vancouver oversaw the count.
that’s up from about 2,200 in 2005.
“we’re living in a complex economic environment and many of the pressures that lead people into homelessness are intensifying,” david wells, chairman of the indigenous homelessness steering committee for greater vancouver, said in a news release.
“we need governments at all levels to prioritize homelessness prevention, keeping people housed and supporting people to become rehoused,” wells said.
the number of people in metro with nowhere to live jumped sharply after covid-19, according to data from lu’ma.
over 4,800 people in metro reported being homeless in 2023, up from 3,600 in 2000 — an increase of over 30 per cent.
from 2023 to 2025, the number of homeless people grew again, according to lu’ma.
“the numbers are up again … about nine per cent over the last count. and the last count wasn’t done that long ago,” said lorraine copas, chairwoman of the greater vancouver community advisory board for reaching home, who oversaw the count for lu’ma. “homelessness is growing at a much faster rate than population growth in the region.”
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metro’s population increased 45 per cent from 2005 to 2025, according to b.c. stats. over the same period, the number of homeless people in the region grew by 140 per cent.
“this is definitely a regional issue,” copas said. “(housing) affordability across the region is an issue. people go where they think the rent is going to be more affordable, and then it’s not more affordable.
“people do the best that they can with what they have, but sometimes it’s not enough.”
the recent growth in homelessness wasn’t spread evenly across the region. delta, white rock and pitt meadows/maple ridge experienced the largest increase in homelessness from 2023 to 2025, according to the report.
delta experienced a jump in homelessness of 71 per cent from 2023 to 2025 — the largest in the region. that represented a jump to 75 people identifying as homeless in 2025, up from 44 in 2023.
“this is troubling because some of the other communities don’t have the same types of services or the infrastructure that you need,” copas said.
in vancouver and surrey, 2,715 and 1,078 people, respectively, reported being homeless on march 11, the most of any metro municipality. that represented an increase from 2023 of 12 and two per cent, respectively.
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as in previous years, people identifying as indigenous were overrepresented in the homeless population. thirty-four per cent of homeless respondents in metro identified as indigenous, despite making up less than three per cent of the population.
“unlike non-indigenous communities, indigenous homelessness is predominantly unsheltered,” wells said, referring to people living outside on streets and in alleys, versus those living in vans or couch-surfing.
the homeless count is a point-in-time snapshot of homelessness in the region and takes place every two-to-three years. this year, over 800 volunteers took part in the count, which took place march 11.
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