BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus calls for urgent action on housing gaps and homelessness costs

UBCM Survey shows that housing gap are costing municipalities millions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE– September 22, 2025

VICTORIA, BC – The BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus (BCUMC) is sounding the alarm on critical housing gaps and escalating municipal costs, following the release of data collected in partnership with the Union of BC Municipalities.

The data shows that nearly half of the survey respondents have housing projects in their municipalities on-hold due to lack of provincial funding. Housing needs are growing across communities, and all respondents indicated that they are incurring significant costs due to rising homelessness, costing municipalities millions of dollars.

“Urban municipalities are carrying the costs of a housing and homelessness crisis, without the resources to solve these challenges alone,” said Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto, Co-Chair of the BCUMC. “We are calling on the Province to consider this data, and accelerate project funding and delivery to help create more homes for people who need them to ease the pressure on local services – and local budgets.”

In January 2025, the BCUMC partnered with the Union of BC Municipalities to conduct a survey of the housing gaps experienced by BC’s urban cities. Data was collected from participating local governments through until March, 2025. 14 local governments responded.

The data provided was analyzed by UBCM, in addition to data sources from the Housing Needs Reports and Housing Target Guidelines, with the goal of shining light on the gaps in housing delivery from the Province, and their effects on local governments.

“The data illustrates an issue that is not well understood,” said Councillor Trish Mandewo, president of the Union of B.C. municipalities. “The provision of supportive housing is a provincial responsibility, and when those housing needs are not being met, the result is more British Columbians without homes. Local governments have gone the extra mile to assist the province in fulfilling its role, but we are also sharing this information today to make it clear that the Province needs to do more.”

To address these concerns, the BCUMC and UBCM are calling on the Province to accelerate project delivery through streamlined processes, renewed project funding, and dedicated support teams, while urging the Government to provide bridge supports to local governments and partner social support agencies to address sheltering, encampments, sanitation, and services for people experiencing homelessness.

On Monday, September 22, the Mayor’s Caucus will deliver the full survey results in UBCM’s afternoon study session Delivering Affordable Housing: Challenges and Opportunities.

The BCUMC will continue to work with the Provincial Government to explore the housing and sheltering needs of urban communities across BC.

A backgrounder on the survey data follows.

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Backgrounder

Full report available here.

Key Findings from the BCUMC and UBCM Housing Survey:

Housing projects stalled: Six respondents reported that projects were on hold in their municipalities due to lack of provincial funding. This includes 3,278 homes in 28 projects. Vancouver accounts for approximately half of all the units on hold. One respondent also highlighted that outside of funding, provincial projects face long delays, including a large development that will have been in the funding and development process for a decade since purchasing the lands by the time of completion.

Growing waitlists: Approximately 21,000 households are on BC Housing’s social housing waitlist across 14 urban municipalities, with actual need likely higher. Over the previous five years (2020-2024), the eight caucus members that are part of the Metro Vancouver regional district saw a 64% growth in their housing waitlists, alone.

Municipal costs rising: All surveyed cities incur significant costs for homelessness response, including shelter provision, policing, fire services, and sanitation. Not all municipalities collect data on these costs, but 93% of respondents indicated that policing costs are increasing, while all respondents indicated that fire response, or other costs associated with homelessness are increasing.

On-the-ground need: Several local governments cited concrete costs that have risen as a result of growing homelessness. For example:

• Since 2012, Abbotsford has contributed approximately $14 million in land and cash for five supportive and transitional housing projects.
• Burnaby’s costs include leases of land at nominal rates for two supportive housing sites and one year-round emergency shelter.
• Richmond funds a Vulnerable Persons RCMP Unit with 2 dedicated officers addressing homelessness. Chilliwack similarly has a Community Response Team with staff costs associated with 2 police.
• Surrey noted 1,424 calls for service to 8-supportive housing facilities and temporary shelters in the City Centre area in 2024
• New Westminster spent $315,000 in 2024 responding to 802 incidents related to homelessness. 517 of these were emergency medical aid responses and 249 were related to a variety of fire incidents from open burning to structure fires.
• In Vancouver, an average of 152 overdose calls per week in 2024 resulted in costs of approximately $2 million.
• The City of Kamloops funds a Community Service Officer Outreach Program that partners outreach staff with Community Safety Officer teams to respond to vulnerable population calls. Maple Ridge employs 7 regular full time Community Safety Officers.
• Nanaimo provided five-year funding to a newly created non-profit to coordinate and optimize resourcing on homelessness response.
• A 2024 report showed that enforcing daytime sheltering bylaws would cost $4.7 million from the City’s operating budget per year.

Provincial targets vs. reality: The Province’s five-year housing target guidelines from May recommends that 13 BCUMC member municipalities create a total of 2,374 supportive units. However, local governments are required to produce their own Housing Needs Reports. Combined, those reports estimate that 7,311 new supportive units are required within five years to address homelessness alone.

The BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus is an informal, non-partisan group of mayors from 16 of BC’s largest cities – Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack, Coquitlam, Delta, Kamloops, Kelowna, Maple Ridge, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria. Together, they represent over 60 per cent of the province’s total population. The group came together in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then was reconvened following the 2022 municipal elections, to act as a collective voice on critical issues facing their communities and urban British Columbia.

Read more about the BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus here: BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus (BCUMC) 

The Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) has represented the interests of local governments in British Columbia since 1905. 100% of local governments in B.C. are members of UBCM – a level of support that has been consistently held for the past 46 years.