British Columbia (BC) faces a housing crisis of unprecedented scale. With at least 11,352 people experiencing homelessness in spring 2023 and a projected housing shortage of up to 610,000 units by 2030, the province confronts challenges that demand more than good intentions. They require strategic, evidence-informed action.

The Strategic Landscape

BC's approach spans all levels of government. Canada's National Housing Strategy represents an $82 billion investment in housing development, while provincial initiatives like Homes for BC and Belonging in BC commit billions more. Municipal governments across the province have also developed complementary strategies, from Vancouver's 10-year framework to Burnaby's comprehensive HOME Strategy encompassing 90 specific actions.

This isn't simply about throwing money at a problem. The province has deliberately adopted Housing First principles to help address homelessness—an evidence-informed approach that prioritizes rapid rehousing with supports rather than requiring individuals to first address underlying issues like addiction or mental illness. Research consistently demonstrates this model's effectiveness in improving housing stability, health outcomes, and reducing costly emergency service use.

Strategic Policy Design Analysis

The following analysis is informed by a rapid policy and evidence review conducted by DPI.  While it reflects a significant portion of policy development over the past several years, it may be subject to adjustment in the future—especially as our holistic understanding of implementation becomes clearer.

Strategic Strengths: What's Working

The analysis reveals several areas where BC demonstrates strategic strengths.

Evidence-Informed Interventions: The adoption of Housing First principles reflects a commitment to research-backed approaches. BC's implementation incorporates key best practices including rapid housing provision, client choice and self-determination, comprehensive individualized supports, and culturally responsive adaptations for Indigenous communities and other equity-deserving populations.

System Enablers: Substantial funding commitments, supportive legislative frameworks enabling greater housing density, and increasingly sophisticated data collection capabilities create conditions for effective intervention delivery. The creation of a standalone Ministry of Housing also signals political priority.

Clear Purpose: There's a consistently articulated vision across jurisdictions ensuring everyone has "a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home," with the explicit goal of making homelessness "rare, brief, and one-time." This vision increasingly recognizes housing as a fundamental human right rather than merely a market commodity.

Joined-Up Governance: Extensive partnerships span federal, provincial, municipal, and Indigenous governments, alongside non-profit organizations, health authorities, and community groups. The Belonging in BC strategy was explicitly designed as a shared framework bringing diverse partners together.

Critical Gaps: Where We Fall Short

Despite these strengths, persistent increases in homelessness amplify the significant challenges we face.

Scale Mismatch: While interventions are evidence-informed, current implementation may not match the magnitude of need. The gap between housing supply and demand represents a fundamental structural challenge requiring comprehensive policy responses extending beyond homelessness programming.

Prevention Paradox: Despite recognition that prevention is more cost-effective than crisis management, there remains a tendency to prioritize emergency responses over upstream interventions addressing root causes like inadequate discharge planning from institutions and insufficient rent assistance programs.

Complex Needs: While Complex Care Housing represents important innovation for individuals with severe mental health and substance use challenges, continued development of specialized housing models is needed for those whose needs exceed traditional supportive housing capacity.

Indigenous Housing: Although significant progress has been made in recognizing Indigenous overrepresentation in homeless populations, continued advancement of Indigenous-led housing solutions remains critical, requiring approaches that acknowledge historical trauma and support Indigenous self-determination.

The Path Forward

The analysis identifies several key considerations for strengthening BC's approach, some of which include:

• Scaling proven interventions while maintaining Housing First fidelity across diverse communities
• Addressing structural supply challenges through continued attention to regulatory barriers, land use policies, and innovative partnerships
• Strengthening prevention-focused approaches including enhanced discharge planning and early intervention services
• Integrating climate resilience considerations as extreme weather events increasingly affect housing stability
• Sustaining political and public support through transparent reporting and demonstration of cost-effectiveness

Strategic Foundations, Implementation Challenges

BC's housing and homelessness strategies demonstrate strong alignment with established best practices in strategic policy design. The framework provides a solid foundation, but the scale and complexity of the challenge require sustained political commitment, adequate resources, and continuous adaptation based on emerging evidence.

The province's commitment to evidence-informed approaches, collaborative governance, and recognition of housing as a human right creates conditions for meaningful progress. However, the ultimate test lies not in strategy documents but in implementation at sufficient scale to match the magnitude of need across BC's diverse urban and rural communities.

For social service organizations, government representatives, and researchers working in this space, this policy analysis hopefully contributes to current efforts and signals the need to address persistent gaps. The path forward requires maintaining strategic focus while scaling interventions to match the reality facing thousands of British Columbians experiencing housing insecurity.