As with the United States, youth homelessness in Canada is a seemingly intractable problem; in the past, Canada has mainly looked to the United States for how to address the system. Moreover, the Canadian response has not been robustly driven by research and evidence. In the last few years, much has changed in terms of how we are responding to youth homelessness in Canada in policy and practice. This change includes an increase in the influence, uptake and impact of research. In this commentary, key issues shaping the national dialogue on youth homelessness in Canada are discussed. The research articles from this volume are used to illustrate and highlight some of the key challenges associated with these key issue areas, to point to where research can have an impact, and to identify where some clear gaps in knowledge exist. More opportunities to increase international collaboration on youth homelessness research stands to enhance the influence of research on solutions to homelessness.