UBCM leaders call on B.C. to fill housing gaps that led to increased homelessness

VICTORIA — Municipal leaders in British Columbia are calling on the provincial government to fill housing gaps that have been pressing for “far too long” and have increased homelessness in their communities.

At a news conference Monday at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said the BC Urban Mayors’ caucus is joining local leaders at the convention to tell David Eby’s government to step up.

Alto said there are more than 3,000 homes on hold because they are waiting for provincial funding, including some projects that have been “on hold for almost a decade.”

“And that they’re experiencing significant increased costs associated with responding to this lack of housing and the homelessness to which it leads,” Alto said of local communities.

The announcement came with the release of a survey conducted by the BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus and UBCM earlier this year to understand what gaps exist in housing.

The response from 14 local governments in B.C., shows that nearly half of them have housing projects in their municipalities on hold due to a lack of provincial funding.

UBCM president Trish Mandewo told reporters that data also suggest that 21,000 households are on the waiting list for help from BC Housing.

“So, the survey gives data to what we already know, and we need more support from the province to build enough supportive and affordable housing,” said Mandewo, who’s a councillor in the Metro Vancouver city of Coquitlam.

Alto said they want the province to ease the burden on local governments by providing dedicated staff and financial support to “urgently address” encampments, sanitation, and other services for people experiencing homelessness.

“We need the province to deliver on the most urgent types of housing. There needs to be destinations for unhoused folks to go,” said Alto.

The issues of street disorder, homelessness and mental health are key topics at this week’s annual convention.

“It’s significant for our members, because we are hearing small businesses and communities all over the province are significantly impacted by the number of people living with mental health (issues) and addictions on our streets,” Mandewo said.

The organization represents almost 190 local governments, including municipalities, regional districts, and First Nations and its members meet all week to talk about issues affecting their communities and to lobby higher levels of government for help.

Mandewo said local governments are doing “everything possible to provide support” for those living on their streets, ‘but the fact is that the province isn’t doing enough for supportive, housing, detox and addiction treatments.”

The first special resolution put to the delegates and sponsored by the union’s executive calls on the provincial government to co-ordinate a “regional approach” to homelessness by “increasing funding and resources for supportive housing and shelter” initiatives across the province.

Delegates will also debate 16 other resolutions from large and small municipalities across the province around similar issues.

The province appointed Dr. Daniel Vigo in 2024 as B.C.’s first chief scientific adviser for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorder to help expand involuntary care under the Mental Health Act, then announced the opening of two new secure facilities totalling 28 beds.

The government also announced plans to build more than 400 mental health beds at new and expanded hospitals in B.C. by modernizing 280 outdated beds and adding more than 140 new mental health beds, with more to come.

Mandewo said Vigo will be attending a session to discuss the progress on involuntary care.

“We have a great interest in what he has to say, because last year at our convention, the premier announced that they will be prioritizing involuntary care,” she said. “So, our members want to see action, and we want to know where they are at.”

Mandewo said local governments have praised the government’s approach, but they also want to see more action.

She said another important topic to be debated is the recent B.C. Supreme Court ruling that has granted the Cowichan Tribes title to about 7 1/2 square kilometres of land in Richmond, B.C.

Mandewo said the court decision has “tremendous significance” for B.C.’s land title system and UBCM members, adding that this year’s conference has invited legal representatives from the Cowichan Tribes, a local government lawyer and a former deputy minister to help fill the information gap.

Scheduled speakers also include the leaders of all four parties represented in the provincial legislature, with Premier Eby speaking on the conference’s last day, Friday, Sept. 26.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2025.

Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press