No More Tomorrows:
Canada’s Economic Refugees Need a Place to Live Today
For years we have watched tents appear in parks, along roads, beside waterways and under bridges.
We have watched people sleep in cars, doorways, shelters, abandoned buildings and derelict boats.
And we keep using the same word:
Homeless.
We believe it is time to change that language.
We prefer:
Economic Refugees
We are not using “refugee” in its legal or immigration sense.
We mean Canadians who have been economically displaced from normal housing and, increasingly, from normal participation in the communities in which they live.
Some lost jobs.
Some became sick.
Some are pensioners whose incomes no longer cover rent.
Some lost marriages or family support.
Some were evicted.
Some work and still cannot afford housing.
Some struggle with addiction or mental illness.
Some have made serious mistakes.
And some need surprisingly little beyond a stable place from which to start again.
“Homeless” tells us where someone may be sleeping tonight.
It does not tell us who that person is, how they got there, what skills they possess or what they might accomplish if given another chance.
Once we think of the problem as economic displacement, the question changes.
Instead of:
“What do we do with the homeless?”
we can ask:
“What does this person need to become stable and independent again?”
Canada Helped Create This Problem
Canada once treated housing much more directly as national infrastructure.
During the Second World War, the federal Wartime Housing Corporation built 45,930 homes in eight years. In the decades that followed, governments supported public housing, co-operatives, non-profit housing and other forms of affordable housing. Much of Canada's existing social-housing stock was built between 1946 and 1993.
Then the direction changed.
Canada did not completely leave housing, but federal policy retreated from the sustained creation of new deeply affordable and social housing that had characterized much of the post-war period.
Population grew.
Land values rose.
Construction costs increased.
Affordable housing disappeared faster than we replaced it.
And we increasingly trusted the private market to provide a basic necessity of life.
Today we are dealing with the consequences.
We have become very good at managing misery:
Shelters. Emergency rooms. Police responses. Encampment removals. Motel rooms. Outreach teams. Addiction services. Security. Cleanup. Consultants. Committees. Strategies and studies.
And still people wake up outside.
No Building Yet Does Not Mean No Shelter Today
There is an important observation behind this proposal.
For generations, Canadian soldiers have lived and worked from properly organized temporary field camps when permanent buildings were unavailable.
These were not recreational camping tents.
Military field camps are functioning communities.
People sleep there.
They eat there.
They wash.
They work.
They receive medical care.
They have power, communications, sanitation, food service and organized logistics.
Properly equipped temporary accommodation can be heated, serviced and quite comfortable.
That is entirely different from the unmanaged tents we now see scattered through Canadian parks.
An encampment may have no dependable drinking water, sanitation, electricity, laundry, secure storage, food service, medical assistance or waste collection.
A properly planned temporary community can provide all of those things.
Nobody deploying a military field operation says:
“We cannot begin because there isn't a permanent building.”
The temporary infrastructure is established.
People move in.
The work begins.
Permanent infrastructure comes later.
That observation is central to this proposal.
Of course permanent housing takes time.
But the absence of a permanent building cannot justify leaving a human being outside tonight.
Temporary May Mean Months — or Years
We also need to be honest about something.
If Canada begins a serious housing response today, thousands of permanent homes will not appear next month.
Some people may live in temporary accommodation for months.
Some may remain there for several years while permanent housing is constructed.
That should not automatically be regarded as failure.
The failure would be leaving people outside for those same years.
Military personnel around the world routinely live for extended periods in temporary field accommodation when operations require it.
Humanitarian organizations also establish temporary communities for displaced populations when permanent housing is unavailable.
Some refugee settlements around the world have existed for years and, in some cases, much longer.
We should not romanticize those camps. Many operate under difficult conditions that Canada should never accept as its standard.
But the underlying lesson is important:
People do not require a completed apartment building before society can provide shelter, clean water, sanitation, food, health services, electricity and personal security.
Canada should be capable of providing a much higher standard.
A temporary Canadian stabilization community should not resemble an unmanaged encampment.
It should be a professionally operated community where people can be warm, dry, safe and comfortable while permanent housing is being built.
The accommodation may evolve over time.
A properly serviced field shelter may come first.
Modular units may follow.
Permanent homes follow those.
The important thing is that the person does not return to the street between those stages.
Canada Already Knows How to Do This
Canada has repeatedly demonstrated that when a humanitarian emergency is recognized, we can organize people, equipment and essential services quickly.
The Canadian Armed Forces' Disaster Assistance Response Team — DART — is one example.
DART is designed for international humanitarian emergencies, not domestic housing. But the capabilities Canada developed are directly relevant: engineering, medical care, water purification, communications and logistics where normal infrastructure has failed.
After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Canada's DART produced almost 2.9 million litres of purified water and treated approximately 22,000 patients as part of the wider Canadian response.
That is not an argument for turning DART into a housing agency.
The lesson is much simpler:
When Canada recognizes an emergency, Canada knows how to mobilize.
And Canada has demonstrated the same principle at home.
When Canada Burns, We Mobilize
Through Operation LENTUS, the Canadian Armed Forces can support provincial and territorial authorities when natural disasters overwhelm local resources.
CAF personnel and equipment have supported Canadians during wildfires, floods, hurricanes and other emergencies.
During the Labrador City wildfire evacuation in 2024, 5 Wing Goose Bay provided emergency shelter and food services for more than 700 evacuees.
During other wildfire emergencies the military has provided aircraft, transportation, logistics, personnel and emergency support.
Nobody tells wildfire evacuees:
“There isn't a permanent building available, so you will have to remain outside.”
We deal with the immediate emergency.
Then we deal with recovery.
And Canada Has Done This Without a Fire or Earthquake
Perhaps one of the most relevant examples occurred at the Quebec border.
In 2017, a sudden increase in asylum seekers entering Canada created an immediate accommodation requirement around Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec.
Canada responded through Operation ELEMENT.
The Canadian Armed Forces established temporary accommodation centres at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle and at the NAV CANADA facility in Cornwall, Ontario.
Military personnel erected modular tent shelters equipped with heating and lighting.
Approximately 370 CAF personnel participated over the course of the operation.
Together the two locations provided close to 2,000 temporary bed spaces.
There was no earthquake.
No wildfire.
No hurricane.
There was an immediate human and logistical need.
Canada recognized it.
The professionals were given a job.
And temporary accommodation was established without waiting for permanent buildings to be constructed.
That is remarkably close to the principle we are proposing.
DART overseas.
Operation LENTUS during Canadian disasters.
Operation ELEMENT when Canada suddenly needed nearly 2,000 temporary beds.
Different emergencies.
Different circumstances.
But the same basic principle:
People need somewhere safe now. Establish the temporary infrastructure, stabilize the situation and work on the permanent solution at the same time.
The Permanent Building Comes Later. The Safe Bed Comes Today.
Canada desperately needs permanent housing.
Build it.
Build affordable rentals.
Build co-operatives.
Build supportive housing.
Build public housing.
Build modular housing.
Build ordinary homes working Canadians can afford.
But do not tell somebody sleeping outside:
“Come back when the building is finished.”
Emergency stabilization and permanent housing are two different jobs.
The emergency response starts now.
Permanent construction begins at the same time.
Temporary accommodation may have to remain for several years while that construction catches up.
That is acceptable if those temporary communities are safe, comfortable, properly serviced and continually improving.
What is not acceptable is using the absence of permanent housing as a reason to leave people outside for those same years.
When Industry Needs Workers, We Find Housing
British Columbia already understands this principle when industry requires accommodation.
The Woodfibre LNG project near Squamish uses floating workforce accommodation — floatels — because hundreds of workers need somewhere to live without overwhelming the local housing market.
The MV Isabelle X provides 652 private ensuite rooms along with dining, laundry, recreation, fitness, office and medical facilities.
The MV Saga X provides private accommodation for another 642 construction workers, plus onboard staff.
When industry says:
“We need hundreds of people here, but there isn't enough housing,”
we bring housing to the workers.
Nobody tells them to sleep outside while permanent apartments are being built.
Industry understands a basic principle:
Housing is infrastructure.
We are not suggesting everyone should live aboard a vessel.
Floatels are one tool among modular housing, properly equipped temporary field accommodation, existing public facilities, public land and permanent construction.
Let the professionals determine which tools are appropriate.
Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands
Recent Point-in-Time counts identify at least:
Greater Victoria — 1,749
Cowichan — 428
Nanaimo — 577
Parksville/Qualicum — 94
Comox Valley — 218
Port Alberni — 180
Campbell River — 174
Salt Spring Island — 137
That is a documented minimum of 3,557 people.
But that is not the true number of Economic Refugees across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Point-in-Time counts miss people.
Not every community is counted.
People living in vehicles, temporarily staying with others, living aboard unsuitable boats or moving between communities can disappear from the statistics.
Northern Vancouver Island remains an important data gap.
So 3,557 is a documented starting minimum, not the total size of the problem.
Five Sites to Begin — One Island-Wide System
We suggest beginning with five regional hubs:
**Greater Victoria
Duncan
Nanaimo
Campbell River
Port Hardy**
These are not five separate local projects.
They would form the backbone of one Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands system serving the entire region.
Victoria would anchor southern Vancouver Island.
Duncan would serve Cowichan and surrounding communities.
Nanaimo would become the central-Island hub.
Campbell River would serve northern-central Vancouver Island.
Port Hardy would provide the northern anchor so people living in remote communities are not automatically required to travel hundreds of kilometres south.
Port Alberni, Parksville-Qualicum, the Comox Valley, Salt Spring and the other Gulf Islands remain part of the same project even though they are not among the first five major sites.
The five hubs are infrastructure.
The mandate is every willing Economic Refugee across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Give People Somewhere Stable From Which to Start Again
This cannot become five warehouses where poor people are stored.
The objective is movement toward independence.
A room or properly equipped personal living space.
A bed.
Privacy.
A shower.
Clean clothes.
Food.
Internet.
An address.
A safe place for personal belongings.
These things sound ordinary.
That is exactly why they matter.
Try finding work when you haven't slept.
Try keeping tools when everything you own is carried with you.
Try keeping work clothes clean without laundry.
Try receiving government correspondence without an address.
Try planning next month when you don't know where you will sleep tonight.
Stable accommodation does not solve somebody's life.
It gives that person somewhere stable from which to begin solving it themselves.
Some people will fail.
Some will refuse help.
Some will relapse.
Some will require intensive treatment.
Some will break the rules.
That is reality.
But the fact that some may fail cannot justify denying thousands of others an opportunity to succeed.
Why We Believe Guaranteed Annual Income Belongs in This Project
Emergency accommodation deals with today's crisis.
Permanent housing deals with the shortage.
But unless we address economic insecurity, another person can simply replace the one we successfully house.
Imagine we stabilize somebody.
They obtain identification.
They find employment.
They rent a home.
Six months later their employer closes.
Their savings disappear.
Their rent is due.
And they are back outside.
We have created an enormously expensive revolving door.
That is why we believe Canada should seriously examine a Guaranteed Annual Income.
Not as a replacement for work.
Not as a promise of a comfortable life without effort.
And not as another complicated welfare program.
We see it as an economic floor.
A point beneath which Canadians should not immediately fall because they lost a job, became ill, retired, left an abusive situation or suffered an ordinary economic setback.
Our reasoning is practical.
Canada already spends enormous amounts dealing with poverty after people fall apart.
Emergency shelters.
Health care.
Income-assistance administration.
Police.
Corrections.
Temporary accommodation.
Crisis intervention.
Municipal cleanup.
Addiction and mental-health response.
And numerous programs, each with different applications, qualifications, offices and administration.
A properly designed Guaranteed Annual Income should therefore be examined not simply as another expenditure, but as a possible way of preventing some of the much more expensive consequences of economic collapse.
We are not claiming all existing services disappear.
They will not.
We are not claiming Guaranteed Annual Income automatically pays for itself.
That must be demonstrated honestly.
But surely Canada should examine whether maintaining a basic economic floor is more sensible than waiting until somebody falls all the way through the system and then paying multiple agencies to pick up the pieces.
Guaranteed Income Is Also About Independence
Economic insecurity traps people.
Someone who is one missed paycheque from eviction has very little bargaining power with an abusive employer.
Someone who cannot afford to leave an abusive household does not have genuine freedom.
A young Canadian with a good business idea may never take the risk if failure means sleeping outside.
A tradesperson whose body is worn out after decades of work may suddenly discover how little economic protection exists between employment and poverty.
A Guaranteed Annual Income does not need to make anybody wealthy.
Its purpose would be much more basic:
Work.
Earn more.
Start a business.
Change jobs.
Go back to school.
Take a chance.
Build a better life.
But if something goes wrong:
You do not immediately fall through the floor of Canadian society.
Stabilize. Build. Prevent.
Our proposal therefore comes down to three things.
Stabilize
People are sleeping outside tonight.
Offer safe, properly serviced temporary accommodation now — even if that accommodation remains necessary for several years.
Build
Canada does not have enough affordable permanent housing.
Start building again at scale while the temporary communities are already operating.
Prevent
Stop allowing ordinary economic setbacks to become permanent displacement.
Seriously examine a properly designed Guaranteed Annual Income as part of that prevention system.
Stabilize. Build. Prevent.
No More Tomorrows
There will always be another reason to wait.
Another study.
Another consultation.
Another election.
Another jurisdiction.
Another funding announcement.
Another strategy.
Another tomorrow.
Meanwhile somebody spends another night outside.
Canada already has emergency planners.
Military logistics.
Engineers.
Tradespeople.
Health professionals.
Construction companies.
Marine industries.
Colleges.
NGOs.
Indigenous governments and organizations.
Public land.
Modular construction.
Floatels.
And decades of experience responding rapidly when human beings need help.
We also know that properly managed temporary communities can support people comfortably for extended periods while permanent infrastructure is being built.
The professionals know how to do their jobs.
Give them the mandate and let them do them.
Begin on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
Start with five regional hubs:
Victoria. Duncan. Nanaimo. Campbell River. Port Hardy.
And establish one clear objective:
Offer every willing Economic Refugee a safe, secure and dignified place to live today while Canada builds the permanent housing they need for tomorrow.
If temporary accommodation is needed for one year, provide it properly for one year.
If it is needed for three years, provide it properly for three years.
But do not leave somebody outside for three years because the permanent building is not finished.
Some will fail.
Many will not.
For thousands of Canadians, a safe place to live, some economic security and the opportunity to rebuild may be all that stands between the life they are living now and the life they are capable of creating.
Stop managing misery.
Start restoring stability.
No more tomorrows. Start today.
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