EXCLUSIVE: Saskatoon encampment numbers jumped 145% since 2022

New, and detailed numbers from Saskatoon’s Fire Department report on homeless encampments across the city show not only that the numbers are quickly growing, but where, how often the fire department responds, and even the amount of garbage that’s now going to the landfill after the encampments are taken down.

It’s also sparking some concern that the department’s resources may not be able to keep up in the future.

The Numbers

Since 2022, encampments in Bridge City have increased by 145 per cent. That’s 743 more to be exact, bringing the 2024 year to a rounded 1,255.

The 2024 data shows there were 1,255 encampments across the city, with 1020 in 2023 and 512 in 2022. (Céline Grimard/650 CKOM)

So far in 2025, there have been 35 reported encampments, mainly in Nutana, Pleasant Hill, and Confederation Urban Centre areas.

In 2024, encampments were found in 53 neighbourhoods, 12 industrial areas, two development areas, and five management areas in Saskatoon.

While some neighbourhoods like Evergreen, Aspen Ridge, Erindale, Brighton and Willowgrove did not report any encampments, Yvonne Raymer, assistant fire chief, said that doesn’t mean there weren’t any.

“There are, what we call hidden homelessness. There are some individuals who are very resourceful at staying sort of unseen,” she said.

She said it’s also important to remember the numbers reflect the encampments that were actually reported to the fire department. The true numbers are likely higher.

The top three locations in 2024 were Pleasant Hill (167), Confederation Urban Centre (143), and Riversdale (114). (Céline Grimard/650 CKOM)

“A lot of it is, we can get some people housed, but then we find that other people are precariously housed and then they fall out of housing, or they come from other communities where there’s no connection to services,” she said.

Even within Saskatoon, Raymer worries about encampments on the city’s east side, where there are currently no services that regularly provide access to food or clothing.

“We’re relying on our outreach partners to reach those individuals and support them the best that they can, or our inspectors are continually offering them support,” she explained.

Some who set up on the east side simply won’t accept help, saying there is a “hierarchy” amongst the homeless and many feel “safer” outside of the core neighbourhoods.

Encampment growth

According to Raymer the fire department became more concerned about encampments after COVID and in the last two months of 2021 recorded 116 — mainly in Pleasant Hill, Riversdale and in the Downtown areas.

As the department developed a reporting process, that number jumped four-fold in 2022 and then doubled again in 2023.

“We started to ask the why, where are they from?” she recalled.

The department found that Saskatoon was not the only city experiencing an influx of people from other areas of the province and even outside of Saskatchewan. Other cities across the country were also experiencing the same thing.

“A lot of individuals were either being sent to Saskatoon because of the connection to services, or finding themselves here to try to access services,” she said.

And that created a “significant” impact on the city because many didn’t know how or could even recall how they got here.

“They might be from the north in Saskatchewan, they might be from some rural areas, but what we’re identifying as well, is that there are individuals who don’t even connect with Saskatchewan let alone Saskatoon,” she explained.

There’s so much work to be done that now, the fire department has two dedicated bylaw inspectors on each battalion to deal with encampments, to try and connect those living in them with their families, to help them find a way to get back home or help them get proper identification, and housing connections.

On the flip side, Raymer said there are also those with addictions, who are here because they find that getting access to a drug supply is easier in Saskatoon than it is outside of the city.

There have been three fires at homeless camps under the University Bridge in the past 19 months. (Will Mandzuk/650CKOM)

Fire department response and resources

Under Saskatoon’s property maintenance bylaw, The Cities Act, and The Fire Safety Act, the fire department is responsible for monitoring encampments, fires associated with them, and needle cleanup.

The department has also begun collecting information on the number of fires within encampments, and the amount of garbage that’s collected when they’re taken down.

In 2024, they responded to 50 working fires, 275 clean-ups, and nearly 19,000 kilograms of “junk and garbage” were taken to the Saskatoon landfill, not including needle pickup, which is not individually tracked at this time.

Nearly 19,000 kilograms of “junk and garbage” were taken to the Saskatoon landfill. (Céline Grimard/650 CKOM)

It would cost a Citizen roughly $2,000 to dispose of that amount at Saskatoon’s Regional Waste Management Centre according to its price for general disposal.

In 2023, there were 42 working fires listed, with 382 encampment clean-ups. No data is available for garbage.

“It’s not the fire inspectors that facilitate the clean up. It’s actually non-profit organizations that are secured to conduct the clean-up themselves. And then they are the ones actually at the landfill reporting back how much the weight was,” she explained.

Personal belongings are not taken.

Raymer said right now the fire department is responding to unsafe conditions and she doesn’t anticipate the demand decreasing.

“The fire department is not the solution to solve homelessness. This is just a response to try to keep communities safe, keep individuals safe.

“It is definitely pulling resources and creating backlogs and other work that we could be addressing,” she added.

At this point, there hasn’t been an effect on response times, or the need to triage or prioritize calls, but it could be heading in that direction.

“We’re not there yet, but definitely that is something that we do take into consideration, and watch and monitor. If we ever got to that capacity definitely it’s something we’d report back to our mayor and council,” she said.

Raymer’s concern now is that the number of support services in parts of the city hasn’t increased, especially in east Saskatoon.

What the department can do is continue to share its data with the public and advocate for more help from all three levels of government.

“We need this to be a city-wide approach and a province-wide approach,” she said.

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block at her desk at Saskatoon City Hall. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)

Mayor Cynthia Block’s homeless plan request

At the city council meeting on Wednesday, Mayor Cynthia Block introduced a motion asking the administration to develop a sweeping plan to address homelessness involving stakeholders like the police and fire departments, businesses, community members and Indigenous groups, while also allowing for public feedback.

“If we are going to get to the other side of this crisis, it will take all of us,” the mayor said.

The motion passed unanimously, with the report expected to be presented back to city council in March.

In 2023, Saskatoon saw 1020 encampments across the city. (The City of Saskatoon)

Saskatoon city projects

In the meantime, according to Sarah King, Saskatoon’s housing manager, the city already has a number of housing, encampment, and homelessness-related projects underway.

The city received $4.48 million through the federal government’s Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampment Initiative in December, with the catch that the funds must spent by March 2026.

Council decided the money would be spent on three different projects, including $275,000 for a capital contribution to a permanent homeless shelter.

“Those discussions are still ongoing with the province,” said King, adding that it’s not yet clear when a permanent shelter location will be announced or approved.

Construction on a temporary, 30-bed shelter is still underway in the old STC building on Pacific Avenue downtown. There’s no date for that shelter’s opening yet.

“Four hundred thousand dollars of that funding (will go) towards a feasibility study for a community navigation centre,” King added, saying the study will look into whether the centre is needed in Saskatoon, as well as options and partnerships.

King also explained what such a centre might look like.

“They’re different in every municipality,” she said. “Basically bringing a majority of our resources for those that are living in shelters or encampments or unsheltered into one space.”

That could include things like government services, mental health and addiction resources and even bathrooms, showers and document storage.

The remainder of the money – about $3.8 million – will go towards a supportive housing development that would include community spaces with warming and cooling areas.

An expression of interest request was issued by the City of Saskatoon on Jan. 28, seeking an Indigenous project partner to develop a minimum of 30 units.

“With that, we’re also pursuing additional capital funding for that supportive housing development through CMHC’s enhanced affordable housing fund,” King said.

“That is due back to the city by February 11.”

King said that while the shelter and supportive housing units are a good start, it’s not enough for the growing number of homeless people in the city.

“We are working on other solutions to this as well,” King said, pointing to four affordable housing projects underway. Those developments would be located downtown, near the Lakewood Civic Centre, and in the Broadway area.

An affordable housing strategy will also go to Saskatoon city council in the late spring or early summer, which King said she hopes will address more of the city’s housing shortfalls.