Is now the right time for a more robust federal investment on youth homelessness? Today, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness has released a policy brief where we make the case that there is now an opportunity for the Government of Canada to work with community partners to address youth homelessness in a much more strategic and effective manner. The policy brief both highlights that in the first three years of the National Homelessness Initiative (2000-2003) – the precursor to the Homelessness Partnering Strategy – there was actually a specific youth homelessness stream. At the same time, the brief looks south of the border to explore the U.S. federal investment on youth homelessness, and then translate it into the Canadian context. Though we don’t want to import everything from the U.S., there is great value in paying attention to how these funds will be applied.


In Canada, Australia, the EU and the U.S. there is a growing recognition that youth homelessness is distinct from adult homelessness in terms of its causes and conditions and it then follows that so must be the solutions. There is also an acknowledgement that we must do things differently; that managing the problem through emergency services is not enough if young people become mired in homelessness and find it difficult to escape. While emergency supports will always be necessary and important, we need to shift our energy and focus to preventing youth from becoming homeless on the one hand, and assisting others to exit homelessness as quickly as possible, and in a safe and planned way with necessary supports. Not only have attitudes shifted about the need to prioritize youth homelessness, the conditions necessary to support such a shift have begun to take hold:

  • Knowledge base - A growing body of research, evidence informed practice and policy now supports the proposition that we can effectively end homelessness. Innovative approaches from across the country, as well as effective interventions from around the world, demonstrate how prevention focused approaches reduce the number of young people who become homelessness, and shorten the experience of those who do.
  • Community action - There are at least ten communities across the country engaging in processes to plan and implement youth homelessness strategies, and many more have indicated a readiness to do so.
  • Provincial/Territorial engagement - Alberta is the first provincial or territorial government to release a youth homelessness strategy, while Ontario has made this one of its four key homelessness priorities. Other provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba, have signaled a strong interest in moving in this direction.
  • Community capacity and readiness - A Way Home, a cross-sectoral national coalition employing a solutions-focused approach to systemic change, program planning and implementation, supports communities to engage in this work. A Way Home is dedicated to co-creating and amplifying solutions with communities and all levels of government.

Over the past 16 years, the Government of Canada, through its National Homelessness Initiative and the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, has actively supported communities across the country to address homelessness. While many communities have used part of their federal investment to support youth-focused programs and services, there has not been a strategic focus on youth homelessness since the early years of the program.

There is now an opportunity to move towards a more coordinated pan-Canadian effort to address youth homelessness. In this regard, there is a key role to be played by the Government of Canada. The new government has declared amongst its priorities a focus on youth (with the Prime Minister assuming responsibility for this portfolio) affordable housing, employment, justice reform, positive engagement with Indigenous people and communities, and a new approach to working with provincial and territorial governments.

In the recent federal budget, funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy was increased by over $50 million in each of the next two years. In that budget, both prevention and youth homelessness were mentioned, in addition to the current priority of Housing First:

“This investment will give communities the support they need to help prevent and reduce homelessness, including Housing First activities, better emergency response services, and supports for youth, women fleeing violence, and veterans”. - Government of Canada (2016): 103

Our proposal is for a targeted investment to end youth homelessness – focusing both on prevention and on Housing First for Youth – that would cost $16.5 million annually. Building on the solid work of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, this represents a real opportunity for the Government of Canada to engage with communities, provinces and territories in the development of a national strategy to prevent, reduce and end youth homelessness.