Homelessness up 47% in 2024, shelter short of target, encampments doubled¶

Original source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/number-of-people-living-unhoused-in-edmonton-up-47-in-2024-data Additional: https://edmonton.taproot.news/news/2024/01/16/the-numbers-and-realities-of-edmontons-shelter-system · https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/shelter-capacity-space-edmonton-9.7017066 Retrieved: 2026-07-04

Homelessness count¶

Number of Edmontonians experiencing homelessness rose 47 per cent in 2024 (city's main housing agency data).
By Name List (65 social agencies): 2,259 people provisionally accommodated and 1,752 in shelters or unsheltered — over 500 more individuals than the previous year.
Homeward Trust estimate: homelessness has hovered around ~5,000 people for the last couple of years (shelters + unsheltered + provisionally accommodated).
Fall 2024: city said 1,866 people were unsheltered or staying in emergency shelters.

As of January 2024, the province said there were more than 1,550 spaces in Edmonton — still short of the 1,700 spaces that were to be available by Nov 1.
By December 2024, some shelters (e.g. Hope Mission's CarePoint Wellness Centre) were consistently overcapacity while others never filled.

City dismantled nearly 3,819 encampments in 2024 — roughly double the previous year.
Advocates warn the eviction pace produces a more vulnerable population heading into winter.