Housing Stability

Canadians who are in housing that is unaffordable (more than 30% of before-tax household income); in need of major repairs; unsuitable for the size and makeup of a family and the family cannot afford a suitable and adequate home in their community. Children without a stable place to call home are less likely to succeed in school and may experience stress and other mental health challenges. In particular for Indigenous Peoples in Canada, homelessness is not defined as being without a structure of habitation; rather, it is more fully described and understood through a composite lens of Indigenous worldviews. In Winnipeg in 2017, Jesse Thistle and the Canadian Observatory of Homelessness launched a new definition of Indigenous homelessness at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. There are 12 dimensions included in the definition.