Winnipeg councillor, outreach advocate look to Halifax for lessons on managing homeless encampments

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 8:18 PM EST | Last Updated: November 6

A metropolis councillor says Winnipeg tin larn from Halifax’s attack to managing stateless encampments, adjacent arsenic that metropolis begins phasing retired its designated camping sites.

Starting Nov. 17, caller regulations successful Winnipeg volition prohibition tents wrong 50 metres of playgrounds, schools and daycares, and wrong 30 metres of transit shelters, bridges and riverbanks.

City officials accidental the changes are meant to support nationalist spaces safe, portion outreach teams enactment to link radical surviving successful tents with lodging and enactment programs.

Cindy Gilroy, who represents Winnipeg's Daniel McIntyre ward, visited Halifax successful October to spot however that metropolis handled a akin challenge.

In 2022, Halifax created respective designated areas wherever radical with obscurity other to spell could acceptable up tents, which a metropolis authoritative determination precocious described arsenic "an exigency effect to a lodging crisis."

The municipality supplied portable washrooms, garbage pickup and energy to those sites.

"What their sites looked astatine and what truly appealed to maine is the metropolis did supply immoderate supports close astatine the site," Gilroy said successful a Wednesday interview.

"They adjacent had power, truthful radical were capable to plug successful their cellphones oregon usage heaters erstwhile it got a small spot colder, alternatively of mounting fires."

Gilroy said the Halifax sites were noticeably cleaner and safer than Winnipeg’s unmanaged encampments. 

"The metropolis had seen a batch little request for police, a batch little request for occurrence [response]," she said.

Still, Halifax’s experimentation has faced problems of its own, including reports of unit and concerns astir the locations of immoderate sites adjacent residential buildings.

City officials successful Halifax said this week they are closing 1 of the remaining 3 designated sites, saying much structure beds and supportive-housing spaces are present available.

Marion Willis, laminitis of the Winnipeg outreach radical St. Boniface Street Links, travelled with Gilroy to Halifax, and says Winnipeg should physique connected that exemplary by establishing a small, managed "encampment-to-housing" aviator site.

"They’re not managed sites — they’re serviced sites," Willis said successful an interrogation with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio.

"But if we had 1 that was some serviced and managed, with a wide lodging mandate, I truly deliberation we could cleanable that model."

As Winnipeg’s caller encampment restrictions instrumentality effect aboriginal this month, metropolis officials accidental outreach teams volition proceed to enactment with radical surviving outdoors to link them with safer indoor options.

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